Islamabad
The Chairman of Kashmir Institute of International Relations (KIIR), Altaf Hussain Wani, while greeting the US president-elect Joe Biden and vice president-elect Kamala Harris on the historic win in the recent elections has expressed the hope that the new US administration will play a significant role in seeking a just and equitable solution to the Kashmir dispute.
In a felicitation letter addressed to Joe Biden the KIIR chief while referring to the US stance on the issue of Kashmir said that being a strong proponent of Kashmiris’ right to self-determination, the US has always supported a just settlement of the Kashmir dispute through peaceful means. He reminded the president-elect that it was under the direction of the-then President Harry Truman that the US ambassador to the UN, Ambassador Huston wrote the historic resolution that gave legitimacy to the Kashmir issue. He regrettably noted that India’s denial to grant the Kashmiris’ their birth right has thrown the region into a quagmire of uncertainty and violence that continue to take a heavy toll on the civilian population in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Hailing President Biden’s pragmatism and statesmanship qualities the letter said, “Mr President, your election as the president of US has generated a wave of optimism across the globe particularly amongst marginalized and oppressed people who genuinely believe that this much needed change in the US administration would lead to an end of prevailing injustices, xenophobia, hatred and intolerance in third world countries like India where minority communities have suffered terribly following the imposition of fascist apartheid laws under the BJP’s rule.”
“Likewise, in Indian occupied part of Jammu and Kashmir, millions of Kashmiris who have been reeling under the yoke of Indian military occupation for over seven decades are looking forward to your Excellency’s pivotal and proactive role helping Kashmiris to exercise their birthright, the right to self-determination guaranteed to them under the UNSC resolutions,” the KIIR chairman said.
Appreciating President Biden’s recent statements in which he had emphasized the restoration of Kashmiris’ fundamental freedoms, he said, “We expect that the policy being precisely articulated by your highness as well as the vice president-elect Kamala Harris on the situation in Kashmir will also reflect in the American state policy, which will hopefully go a long way in mitigating the unending sufferings of Kashmiri people”.
Altaf Wani said that the struggling people of IIOJK were also looking forward to a deeper level of engagement on the part of the new US administration to seek a just and peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute, which he said has been a major cause and consequence of the rights violations in the occupied territory.
Highlighting the importance of the conflict resolution, the KIIR chairman hoped that the US under the stewardship of President Biden would make conflict resolution a priority rather than managing the conflicts. He maintained that real peace in the world could only be ensured by resolving disputes particularly the festering Kashmir conflict that continues to threaten peace and stability in the South Asian region.—KMS
