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Mr. Chairman,
The UN Charter proclaims its purposes as being “To develop friendly relations
among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and
self-determination of peoples”.
2. The two International Covenants start in Article 1 with “All peoples have the
right of self-determination”. Realization of self-determination is the
foundation for the enjoyment of all other rights.
3. States come into being on the basis of the exercise of self-determination by
their peoples. The UN Charter speaks of “self-determination of peoples”. It can
only be exercised by peoples, not by potentates, kings and maharajas on behalf
of their “subjects”.
4. In 1947, two new nations, Pakistan and India emerged in South Asia. They were
precursors of the wave of de-colonization and emancipation – on the basis of the
right of self-determination. But having realized its own liberation, India chose
to deny self-determination of the people of Kashmir.
5. Contravening the principles of the partition of British India, New Delhi
coerced the Hindu Maharaja of Kashmir, to lay claim to Kashmir. When the
Kashmiris revolted, India sent its troops to occupy the state.
6. The UN Security Council, adopted resolutions 47(1948) and 80(1950) which
provided that “…the final disposition of the State of Jammu and Kashmir will be
made in accordance with the will of the people expressed through the democratic
method of a free and impartial plebiscite conducted under the auspices of the
United Nations”. Kashmir is not part of India; the UN recognizes it is a
disputed territory.
7. Shorn of sophistry, the problem in Kashmir is simply that India is unwilling
to allow the Kashmiris to express their wishes freely and democratically. A
democracy that is shy of allowing a people to exercise the right of
self-determination is a contradiction in terms. Democracy in words and autocracy
in action equals hypocrisy in reality.
8. Today, 54 years after the UN Security Council first called for a plebiscite,
India continues to maintain its hold over occupied Jammu and Kashmir by force
and fraud.
9. For the past 12 years, Kashmir has been the killing field for the 700,000 -
strong Indian occupation army. Over this period 80,000 Kashmiris – men, women
and children – have died. Thousands of young Kashmiris remain incarcerated.
Thousands have been tortured. Thousands maimed. Crackdowns are common: torture,
arbitrary arrest and custodial killings are endemic. Rape has been
systematically used as an instrument of war. Collective punishments – such as
putting entire bazaars, villages and crops to torch – have been the response to
even a whisper of defiance. Kashmiri political leaders – the APHC – have been
arrested and intimidated. Some have been tortured; others killed. All these
gross violations of human rights have been attested and compiled by reputable
human rights organizations – such as Amnesty International and Human Rights
Watch. But India has failed to break the will of the Kashmiri people. In
Kashmir, India's military power, which some believe is overwhelming, is pitted
against the irresistible force of freedom.
10. The dispute over Jammu and Kashmir has led to three wars between India and
Pakistan. Kashmir is a volatile flashpoint in South Asia’s nuclear tinderbox.
11. This year, our region unfortunately lived up to its image as the “most
dangerous place on earth”. Utilizing the lexicon of the war against terrorism,
India mobilized a million-man army against Pakistan’s borders in a
self-advertised exercise in “coercive diplomacy” and military brinkmanship. For
the past 10 months, India attempted to blackmail Pakistan and the world by
threatening war. Last May, the Indian Prime Minister threatened a “decisive
battle” against Pakistan. The Indian Army Chief said that an Indian strike could
make Pakistan’s “continuation in any form doubtful”.
12. Throughout this crisis provoked by India’s military mobilization and threats
of war, Pakistan demonstrated restraint and responsibility. We offered dialogue;
we accepted the intercession of friendly states; we accepted the UN
Secretary-General’s offer of good offices. India rejected all peace overtures.
It rejected a bilateral dialogue; it rejected third party mediation; it refused
the Secretary-General’s good offices.
13. Pakistan regards the Indian announcement of a phased withdrawal of its
forces from the international border with Pakistan as a step in the right
direction. Pakistan too has decided to withdraw its forces from Pakistan-India
border to their peacetime locations. We hope India will also soon pullback the
additional forces it has deployed along the LOC and in occupied Kashmir,
Pakistan's deployments along the Line of Control in Kashmir will also remain
unchanged.
Mr. Chairman,
14. We trust that New Delhi now recognizes that coercive diplomacy is neither
cost-effective nor effective against the brave and proud Pakistani nation. We
will never flinch or flounder in the face of military threats or blackmail.
Mr. Chairman,
15. The recent so-called “elections” organized in Indian-occupied Kashmir should
be no reason for satisfaction -- to India or anyone else. As in the case of
every previous election, this one too was an exercise in fraudulent and forcible
“democracy”. The exercise was designed to stifle the voice of the Kashmiri
people, not to hear it. This has been attested by credible and documented
reports by the world media and several NGOs, including Indian NGO “Coalition of
Civil Society”. Free and fair elections cannot be held in Kashmir under foreign
occupation; under the jackboots of the 700,000 Indian troops; much less can such
elections serve to legitimise foreign occupation. The UN Security Council had
declared unequivocally that such “elections” are no substitute for the
UN-supervised plebiscite called for by the UN Security Council. The APHC has
rejected these elections and reiterated its demand for “Azadi” i.e. freedom from
India.
16. India’s hope that it can succeed in imposing a political fait accompli in
occupied Kashmir -- without a dialogue with Pakistan and without responding to
the wishes of the Kashmiri people -- is a pipedream.
17. Instead of pursuing its present strategy of force and fraud, India should
acknowledge certain fundamental facts:
one, a military solution is not possible; any attempt to impose this will be
dangerous;
two, the status quo is the problem; it cannot be the solution;
three, a peaceful political settlement will have to be the outcome of
negotiations between India and Pakistan and involve the true representatives of
the Kashmiri people;
four, a durable Kashmir solution will have to be based on the wishes and
aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir as envisaged in the resolutions
of the Security Council.
18. Taking into account these fundamental facts, India should join Pakistan,
with the assistance of the international community, to promote a peaceful
solution to the Kashmir dispute.
19. To create the appropriate conditions for a negotiated solution of Kashmir,
India must end its repression and human rights violations in Kashmir.
Specifically, it should take the following steps:
- release all Kashmiri leaders in detention;
- allow humanitarian assistance to the suffering people of Kashmir;
- allow the stationing of impartial human rights monitors and the presence of
international human rights organizations in Jammu and Kashmir;
- allow the expansion of the number of UNMOGIP observers along the Line of
Control;
- remove military pickets and troops from Kashmiri towns and villages;
- halt the practice of crackdowns on Kashmir villages and urban areas.
20. We hope that India will respond positively to the call of the entire
international community to commence a serious dialogue with Pakistan to address
and resolve the Kashmir dispute and other outstanding differences between the
two countries. India’s acceptance of a dialogue will be no favour to Pakistan;
such a bilateral dialogue is in India’s own interest. It is India, which has
expressed a persistent preference to resolve the problem of Jammu and Kashmir
through bilateral dialogue.
Mr. Chairman,
21. The UN has a direct role and responsibility to enable the people of Jammu
and Kashmir to exercise their right to self-determination. The UN must discharge
this responsibility and India and Pakistan must implement the UN Security
Council resolutions in accordance with article 25 of the U.N. Charter.
I thank you, Mr. Chairman.