Kashmir and regional peace

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The very purpose behind formation of United Nations after World War-II ostensibly was to promote global peace, prevent wars and work collectively for the wellbeing of mankind. But it is regrettable to note that the world body has neither succeeded in preventing wars and conflicts nor has been able to resolve issues like Palestine and Kashmir which pose a grave threat to the global peace and security. The UN was created by the triumphant allied powers of the World War-II who actually drew up the UN charter in such a way as to promote their own global interests. They have used this forum to achieve their imperialist designs and to refashion the world map according to their own skewed World view.

The right of self-determination has been applied selectively and similarly conflicts also have been either resolved or aggravated depending on the interests of the big powers. What happened in Iraq, Libya and Syria as result of the intervention of the troika comprising USA, UK and France as a consequence of manoeuvred UN resolutions, is the worst example of imperialism through the World body. The Palestine issue has not been resolved because the Zionist state has defied the UN resolutions with disdain, supported by the US. The issue of Kashmir also remains unresolved because of the Indian intransigence, apathy of the UN and lack of support of the big powers who continue to show an indifferent attitude to its resolution due to their tilt towards India, dictated by their commercial and strategic interests, rather than adherence to UN Charter and UN resolutions on it.

Kashmir is nuclear flash point as also acknowledged by the big powers but they have not taken or supported steps to defuse the situation in South Asia or resolving the issue in accordance with the UN resolutions, the implementation of which is obligatory on the World Body.

Pakistani leadership has been consistently agitating the need for resolution of Kashmir dispute at all available international forums including UN and through the diplomatic engagements with the world leaders, justifiably pointing out to them that the UN and world community had a longstanding responsibility to play a role in the resolution of the issue through a free, transparent and impartial plebiscite that has been promised to the people of Kashmir.

Needless to emphasise that regional peace depends on solution of the Kashmir problem. India instead of recognising the ground realities and showing positive response to peace overtures by Pakistan was fuelling instability in the region by adopting a ‘ no talks’ posture. It was vitiating the atmosphere through incendiary statements besides muzzling the voice for the legitimate right of self-determination of the people of Kashmir. To cover up its atrocities against the people of Kashmir and divert the attention of the world community, it was continuously violating the ceasefire along the LOC as well along the working boundary in which many civilians have been killed during the last one year. The Indian atrocities have been recorded and highlighted by international human right organisations like Amnesty International. But regrettably the UN and the powers who can wield their influence on facilitating the resolution of the festering issue of Kashmir, the root-cause of the continued hostilities between the two nuclear neighbours, have shown no interest in defusing the situation and fulfilling their obligation towards the people of Kashmir.

The US and its allies are trying to prop up India as a regional super power to counter the rising Chinese influence in the region and beyond to realise their strategic and commercial interests. They have put blinkers on their eyes. Encouraged by their support India is acting like a war-like state not realising that a sustained dialogue process with Pakistan on all outstanding issues including Kashmir was vital for the region to make progress.

The PML (N) government made honest efforts to orchestrate bonhomie with India, an ultimate reality and inevitable necessity in regards to peace and progress in the region but the Modi government in India has not shown any inclination towards resolving the disputes between the two countries and instead has adopted a bellicose posture towards Pakistan. It has been making persistent efforts to isolate Pakistan and also sponsoring and fomenting acts of terrorism within its territory.

Pakistan has been inviting the attention of the UN and the world community to the unfurling situation in the region as well as what India was doing to the people of Kashmir. The Modi government is also pursuing a policy to change demographic realities in the occupied Kashmir by settling Hindus from India in the valley. It also made at attempt to remove article 370 of the Indian constitution which recognised special status of Kashmir, however that attempt was by thwarted by the High Court of occupied Kashmir which held that India could not do it unilaterally.

The UN and the powers that be must remove the blinkers from their eyes, see the things in their true perspective and prove their credentials as a promoter of world peace by fulfilling their obligations to the people of Kashmir. The issue is not going to die down with the passage of time as is evident from the freedom struggle launched by the people of Kashmir in 1989 and the current uprising in the backdrop of the killing of Burhan Wani. The People of Kashmir who are striving for their legitimate right of self-determination and Pakistan which is a party to the dispute and for whom Kashmir is an unfinished agenda of the partition of the Indian sub-continent, would never allow India to continue with its occupation of Kashmir by using its military muscle.

The Indian stance in regards to Kashmir being its integral part lacks moral and legal basis. Her attempt to have the issue of accession resolved through the constituent assembly of occupied Kashmir that formed the basis of the new Indian stance was vehemently repudiated by the UN through its resolutions number 91 and 122 which unequivocally reiterated that the question in regards to accession of the state to either of the dominions could only be resolved through a plebiscite held under the auspices of the UN. The Indian leadership therefore is better advised in its own interest and in the interest of peace and security of the region to accept the ground realities to create a win-win situation for all the stakeholders.

 

 

2 COMMENTS

  1. Did the author forget that Pakistan was the darling of the “POWERS THAT BE” he referred umpteen time in the article right from 1947 till recently?? The selective amnesia and propensity to cherry pick facts so as to present a black and white picture of a complex situation which in its entirety resides in the grey zone, is the base cause of the current predicament Pakistan and its people find itself in, regarding Kashmir in particular and everything else in general. The peddling of such simplistic notions of a multi-dimensional complex issue is utterly condemn able and is to be rejected outright to bring about any qualitative difference to the situation at hand

  2. Joker. No one thinks Kashmir is a nuclear flashpoint, not even your dumb army and even dumber politicians. India expects Pakistan to give illegally occupied Pok and GB to India. Once that’s done, we can all live in peace….maybe balochistan next

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