The visuals emerging from across the LoC in the other part of Kashmir are not only deeply disturbing but also profoundly surprising to me. I had always believed that, despite all our grievances in Jammu and Kashmir, we were comparatively better off. While our political aspirations were repeatedly ignored, we nevertheless had far superior infrastructure, better educational opportunities, medical colleges, engineering colleges, IITs, and other institutions. In contrast, the other side of Kashmir got its first medical college only in 2009, and its infrastructure pales in comparison to ours. I assumed that despite these limitations, people there were relatively content. The recent protests, however, and the brutal force used to suppress them have shattered that perception. In many ways, the scenes unfolding there resemble what we have endured here over the decades.These developments raise difficult questions that the governments of both India and Pakistan must confront.AdvertisementFirst, why did Kashmir, often described as paradise on earth, reject the two-nation theory and choose secular India over Pakistan? In 1947, our people fought the tribal invaders with sticks and even bare hands. Kashmiris wholeheartedly embraced Gandhi’s vision of India while rejecting Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s Pakistan. Besides Maharaja Hari Singh and Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s deep emotional bond with Kashmir played a defining role. His promise that Kashmir would become a “show window” for the world resonated deeply with Kashmiris. He made no such promise to any other princely state because he understood Kashmir’s unique character a Muslim-majority region where Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians and others had lived together for centuries, speaking different languages, practising different cultures, yet sharing a common homeland.What followed, however, was a gradual erosion of trust. The communal politics of the Jana Sangh and its campaign against Kashmir’s special status sowed the first seeds of alienation in the hearts of Kashmiris. Over time, those seeds grew into the deep mistrust and estrangement that we witness today.Ironically, today we seem to be witnessing a similar process unfolding across the LoC.AdvertisementI vividly remember when the Muzaffarabad Road was reopened and my father, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, went to receive the first visitors from across the LoC. It was a moment of immense joy on both sides. Some visitors asked my father whether they would be allowed to offer namaz in Kashmir. He smiled and replied, “In Kashmir, you can offer namaz wherever you wish.” That simple question reflected the level of ignorance and misunderstanding that decades of separation had created between people who shared the same history, culture and blood.Mufti sahab firmly believed that opening travel and trade across the LoC would resolve at least half of the Kashmir issue. Once people met each other, travelled freely and saw realities with their own eyes, much of the mistrust would disappear. It would satisfy not only their curiosity but also their emotional yearning to reconnect with their own people. Tragically, that historic process was abandoned midway.What are Kashmiris ultimately asking for? Like every people, they have aspirations, seek peace, dignity and the right to shape their own future.The Kashmiris across the LoC increasingly feel disempowered because their representative institutions are being undermined through nominated members imposed by the Government of Pakistan. For years, I believed that distrust existed only between Kashmiris and New Delhi. But today it appears that Islamabad, too, does not fully trust the people of that Kashmir to elect and govern themselves. Instead, it relies on nominated representatives who are expected to serve official interests rather than the aspirations of the people.People have every right to safeguard their dignity. The Pakistani government’s use of brute force instead of engaging with peaceful protesters is deeply unfortunate. Governments cannot take their own people for granted. Responding to genuine grievances with bullets instead of dialogue will only alienate those very people whom Pakistan often describes as its “jugular vein”.We have had, and continue to have, serious political differences with New Delhi. Those differences have led to immense suffering and bloodshed. Yet the Kashmir across the LoC remained largely peaceful and loyal despite receiving far fewer opportunities and lagging behind us in almost every developmental indicator. That alone should compel serious introspection in Islamabad.This is the moment for both India and Pakistan to abandon policies of coercion and embrace policies of reconciliation.New Delhi must rebuild trust through dialogue, confidence-building measures and genuine political reconciliation. The abrogation of our special status has not resolved the Kashmir issue, it has instead deepened feelings of political disempowerment and alienation. Despite the image projected by the government, Jammu and Kashmir increasingly resembles an open-air prison where frequent raids, arbitrary detentions, dismissal of employees, demolition of homes, restrictions on educational institutions and pervasive surveillance have become commonplace. These measures may create fear and silence, but fear can never become the foundation of lasting peace.Pakistan now appears to be repeating, and perhaps even intensifying, the very mistakes that have prolonged suffering in our own Kashmir.Both Delhi and Islamabad must recognise that Kashmir is, above all, a human issue. It cannot be resolved through force, intimidation or guns. Governments must speak to their own people, listen to their aspirations and negotiate with empathy rather than coercion. Only through dialogue, dignity and reconciliation can a just and lasting peace be achieved for the people on both sides of Kashmir.The writer is former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir