Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary General, World Kashmir Awareness Forum has said that the Kash-mir conflict is often referred as potentially the most dangerous dispute in the world, as it involves the fate of 1.5 billion people of South Asia which is one fifth of total human race.
Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai addressing the 5th Interna-tional ASSAM Islamic Union Congress in Istanbul said, “Yet it is amazing that the world powers, with the United States as the sole super-power, maintain a largely leave-it-alone posture towards the (Kash-mir) problem.
The conference was held with the participation of Üsküdar University (ÜÜ), Kütahya Dumlupınar University (KDU), Justice Defenders Association (ASDER), Union of NGOs of the Islamic World (UNIW) and Pakistan Centre for Aerospace and Security Studies (CASS), on ‘Determination of Principles and Procedures of Joint Foreign Policy for the Muslim world.’
Dr. Fai spoke on “The policy of the United States towards Kashmir.’ Dr. Fai elaborated that it was a historical fact that when the Kashmir dispute erupted in 1947-1948, the United States championed the stand that the future status of Kashmir must be ascertained in accordance with the wishes and aspi-rations of the people of the territory.
“The United States was the principal sponsor of the Resolution # 47 which was adopted by the Secu-rity Council on 21 April 1948 and which was based on that unchallenged principle. Following the reso-lution, the United States as a leading member of the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP), adhered to that stand,” he added.
“Historically, the Kashmir dispute has been the most lasting victim of the cold war, during which the Soviet Union vetoed every resolution of the Security Council to implement the Council’s agreed upon resolution. It is tragic that, even after the end of the cold war, the imbroglio has persisted, and the people of Kashmir have been subjected to grave abuses of their human rights. This is a fact which should weigh heavily on the international con-science. It should also be a challenge to interna-tional statesmanship,” Fai added.
He warned that an indication of the misplaced focus of the world powers including the United States is the wrong-headed talk about the “sanctity” of the Line of Control in Kashmir. “It is forgotten that this line continues to exist only because the international agreements which had been concluded between India and Pakistan, with the full support of the United States. This line was originally formal-ized by that agreement as a temporary ceasefire line pending the demilitarization of the State of Jammu and Kashmir and the holding of a plebiscite under impartial control to determine its futu.—KMS
