No doubt, Pakistan would attempt to politicize and weaponize Kashmiri turmoil. The deep-rooted resentments surrounding resource exploitation, coupled with the potential exclusion of local communities from benefiting from the local natural resources, can fuel social protests and unrest. An official on May 2, 2023, said auction of the reserves will likely begin from December this year The Hindu Given this precedent, it is easy to imagine how similar discontent could arise in the local population if such valuable minerals were mined without them visibly and directly benefitting.ĥ.9 million tonnes of lithium reserves were found for the first time in the country in Jammu and. Protesters argue that the generated wealth from these minerals has not been adequately shared with local populations, with a significant portion of profits being sent abroad. Protests in Chile, Bolivia, and Peru have erupted due to the auctioning of their abundant copper and lithium resources to private companies. Local militant groups could find their ranks swell if animated by a local economic non-ideological issue. Although the political and economic circumstances in Pakistan are unlikely to culminate in a large-scale invasion similar to that of 1990 Kuwait, Islamabad’s support for militant groups could escalate. Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait in 1990 was driven in large part by the desire to seize the country's extensive oil reserves and gain control over a larger coastline. This would not be the first-time resource disputes either led to or provided an excuse for, war. The People’s Anti-Fascist Front, a paramilitary group sponsored by the Pakistani military establishment, has already stated that it will not allow the extraction of these lithium resources. Tragically, the discovery of these lithium reserves will likely serve to further inflame the already volatile situation in Kashmir. Pakistan’s powerful military, not interested in full normalization with India to justify its own oversized role in Pakistani politics, would find negotiations similarly unpalatable. The present Indian government, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seems unlikely to entertain any deal with Pakistan over Kashmir in general, and the Kashmiri lithium in particular, given its axing of Article 370. (Photo by Eduardo Munoz - Pool/Getty Images) Getty Images More than 100 heads of state or government are attending the session in person, although the size of delegations are smaller due to the Covid-19 pandemic. NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 25: Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi addresses the 76th Session. Cooperation initiatives between Pakistan and China, India’s two largest rivals, to strengthen cooperation in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir only further inflame the situation. Islamabad keeps the Kashmir conflict simmering while using the tensions with India to justify the regime militarization, corruption, and inefficiencies. The situation further deteriorated in 2019 when India abolished Article 370 from its constitution, which granted local autonomy to Kashmir. A UN ceasefire divided the region, but ongoing violence and geopolitical uncertainty hinder economic activity. In 1947, Kashmir chose to join India against local Muslims’ wishes, prompting a string of wars over the region. Persistent violence, fraught geopolitics, and the contested nature of Jammu and Kashmir may increase the political risks in the lithium mining project there. (Photo by TAUSEEF MUSTAFA / AFP) (Photo by TAUSEEF MUSTAFA/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images Fifty-one people were killed this Ramadan in the restive region according to Khurram Parvez from the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, which monitors conflict-related deaths. The Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, which ended with the Eid al-Fitr feast, was particularly bloody one for mainly Muslim Kashmir. Kashmiri protestors clash with Indian government forces after Eid prayers in downtown Srinagar on.
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