ACCORDING to Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has promised to take up the issue of Occupied Kashmir with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Addressing a news conference after a telephonic conversation with the UN Chief who is in Paris for the G-7 summit, Qureshi said he had again drawn Guterres’ attention to humanitarian crisis in Indian occupied Kashmir in the wake of New Delhi’s illegal annexation of the disputed territory.
The pledge made by the UN chief is encouraging and one hopes he would take up the issue of the Jammu and Kashmir with the Indian Prime Minister in the right perspective. It will be morale boosting for people of Kashmir who are being subjected to worst types of atrocities by a country that claims to be the biggest democracy on the planet. India also claims to be a secular country yet treatment meted out to Kashmiri Muslims exposes veracity of claim before the world community and it is time for the world to shun lip-service and take concrete steps to safeguard rights of Kashmiris and protect their lives and properties that are at risk of being decimated by a fascist regime. The UN has a special role and responsibility with regard to Kashmir both in terms of its own charter which calls for urgent measures if there is any threat to peace and security in any part of the globe and because of its own resolutions on Kashmir that pledged a plebiscite to Kashmiris to decide their fate.
The points raised and suggestions made by the Foreign Minister during his telephonic conversation with the UN Secretary General merit serious consideration if the world body and its chief were genuinely interested to play a meaningful role in mitigating sufferings of Kashmiris and peaceful resolution of the longstanding conflict. The plight of Kashmiri people can be gauged by the fact that there is total blackout and even Indian opposition leaders were not allowed to go beyond Srinagar airport. This prompted opposition leaders to say that New Delhi is hiding something from the people and the world. In this backdrop, the suggestion made by Qureshi to Guterres to visit South Asia to see for himself the ground situation would be a step in the right direction if the UN chief undertakes such a journey at the earliest in view of fast deteriorating situation in Occupied Kashmir. Pakistan, on its part, has undertaken to facilitate the UN Secretary General in visiting any part of the Azad Kashmir and has proposed that Guterres should demand similar facilitation from New Delhi to visit occupied territory. Such a visit has the potential to expose Indian claims and bring some relief to Kashmiri people as permission or denial for a visit will have its own consequences for India.
Qureshi has also drawn attention of the UN head to Indian forces using teargas shells and pellet guns on Kashmiris during protest demonstrations, which is legitimate right of Kashmiris under all norms and local and international laws. Mosques are being shut and Muslims are not allowed to offer prayers, Friday congregations and even Eid prayers. There is curfew in occupied Kashmir for consecutive three weeks creating enormous difficulties for people and there is dire need to take urgent measures to get the curfew lifted. India and the world community must realise that the strategy to use curfew to suppress sentiments of Kashmiris would not succeed as the day curfew is lifted, Kashmiris would convey a strong and forceful message to the international community that they reject latest changes in Occupied Kashmir in totality. The UN Secretary-General has stated that he was always willing to play a role for resolution of the Kashmir dispute but India did not look forward to it. It is strange that the UN has double standards as far as human rights situation in occupied Kashmir and other parts of the world is concerned. The UN has taken urgent and concrete measures to safeguard rights of some nationalities in some regions of the world but it is waiting for acceptance of such a role by New Delhi, a proposition not acceptable to the just minded segments of the global community.
We hope Pakistan would continue to raise forceful voice for Kashmiris at all regional and global forums and urge international community to work for implementation of the UN resolutions on Kashmir, which is the only viable option for peaceful resolution of the issue. It is also time for our Foreign Office to ponder over as to why countries like United Arab Emirates have closed their eyes towards plight of Kashmiris and are extending massive support to New Delhi in its strategy to strengthen its illegal hold on the occupied territory. This is in sharp contrast to avowed commitment of Pakistan from the day one to provide all kinds of support for Muslim causes especially the Palestinian issue.
