Kashmir is endowed with enormous resources including a network of glaciers that have sculpted the region’s distinct topography and hydrology. The Himalayan range of Kashmir comprises many glaciers namely Kalohi, machoi, Thajwas, Hoksar, Nehnar, Shishram and glaciers around Hamrukh. According to the reports, glaciers in the northwestern part of the Himalayas are declining at a more rapid rate. The environmental stress in Kashmir is both a cause and an effect of militarization by Indian armed forces.
The reports indicate that the Machoi glacier in the vicinity of north-western Kashmir’s Drass region, with a height of 3,762 meters and 5,050 meters above sea level has retreated by 29%. Similarly, the Kolahoi glacier known as Goddess of Light, located about 35 kilometers upstream from Pahalgam, has retreated by 18 %. Notably, Siachen Glacier is a part of Ladakh situated the North of Nubra Valley, which is part of the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayan mountains in eleven years, the glacier had receded nearly 800 meters, and in seventeen years about 1700 meters.
India revoked Article 370 in Kashmir for forcefully amalgamating Kashmir in Indian Union and deployed 9 lac armed soldiers to suppress the Kashmiri freedom struggle and right to self-determination. Indian forces acts of carrying out inhumane activities namely use of chemical weapons and pellet guns to humiliate kashmiris produces pollutants that settle on glaciers and darken their surfaces, leading to increased absorption of sunlight and accelerated melting. Resultantly, Glaciers in Kashmir are receding at alarming rate making it more vulnerable to water scarcity and outbursts of floods. This will have an immense repercussion on water needs of South Asia Region as water from these glaciers feed millions of people.
Indian forces are also cutting trees in Kashmir to setup camps in forest, which is giving rise to green house effects. The temperature of valley has upsurge in last decade by 1.2 Celsius which is contingent to create food insecurity as apparent from recession in agricultural productivity namely saffron and ample, now cereals are produced in meager amount. India Metrological Department (IMD) reported that Temperature in Kashmir has mounted by 1C and 0.05 every year. The deforestation has caused 35 % decrease in monsoon and 10 % decrease in Snow.It has created impedance in growth of economy and tourism by causing recession in snowfall and agricultural productivity.
The world’s second largest glacier, “Siachen Glacier “has been a battleground between India and Pakistan because of its dispensable strategic location. This made them deploy their forces copiously there. The glacier is now burdened with over tons of toxic waste and pollutants as a result of the region’s extensive militarization efforts. This collection covers military operations’ leftovers, such as helicopters that have crashed, discarded tools, and gun-related trash. The existence of a sizable military infrastructure, which not only contributes to hazardous waste contamination but also upsets the delicate equilibrium of the glacier, heightens the intensity of the problem. Pakistan even called India for complete demilitarization of Siachin Glacier due to climate change vulnerability caused by militarization, but India is not ready to leave it for the region’s strategic importance
Pakistan needs to encapsulate the Kashmir conflict in the context of a new dimension we need to tell the world what they want to listen. The contemporary world is more advanced and is moving towards soft power, it is having a notion of addressing Nontraditional security threats. Therefore, we need to tell them how militarization and inhumane activities are giving rise to Nontraditional security threats in Kashmir namely climate change and glacier retreat which is a matter of great concern for the whole region.
For our voice to be listened all over the world we have to be internally robust enough which involves being politically stable to deal with our own nontraditional security threats involving law and order situations, and climate changes. According to the Global Climate Risk Index, Pakistan is presently the fifth most vulnerable country to climate change in the world, having lost approximately 10,000 lives and suffered economic damages totaling 3.8 billion USD from 1999 to 2018. By doing so, Pakistan not only protects its interests and citizens but also positions itself as a responsible and capable international actor. This, in turn, strengthens its credibility and strengthens its voice when asking for global collaboration and helps to solve important concerns like climate change, which has far-reaching consequences on Kashmiris and South Asian water needs.
The writer is a student of International Relations at International Islamic University, Islamabad and is currently serving as an intern at Kashmir Institute of International Relations.