UN chief calls for 'positive' settlement of Kashmir issue, evades comments on demography charter

[poornima lagadapati]

United Nations: At a time when border issues are the most pressing issues India is facing on both its fronts, with Pakistan as well as China, the United Nations on Wednesday called for a "positive" resolution to the matter.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged India and Pakistan to move in a positive direction to resolve differences with respect to the border issue along the Line of Control.

When asked by a Pakistani reporter during a news conference what the UN chief felt about the border issues between the two countries in the Valley, Guterres subtly evaded the question and referred to his remarks from last year and said, "It is absolutely essential to move forward in a positive way according to what I expressed then and I maintain today."

Last year when India rescinded its special constitutional status, Guterres had referred to the 1972 Simla Agreement, and said the treaty "states that the final status of Jammu and Kashmir is to be settled by peaceful means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations".

 

[Himanshi Agarwal]

Some elements of a sound approach:

(1) There does exist a dispute between India and Pakistan on the future status of the State of Jammu and Kashmir. All United Nations maps carry this notice. The Simla Agreement tacitly recognises that.

(2) There is also a third-party dispute—namely, the people of the State.

(3) The dispute urgently demands a solution as time has failed to solve it and the status quo is intolerable.

(4) There can be no solution by force. India cannot crush those who cry “azadi” in Kashmir. Pakistan cannot grab it by war. Kashmiris cannot oust India by armed revolt.

(5) A settlement involving all the three parties alone can ensure peace.