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| A Kashmiri diaspora protest in US |
The Kashmiri diaspora representatives in US have stepped of their campaign for internationalising the Kashmir issue, with one of its youth delegates, addressing an informal debate at the UN, organised by the Office of the United Nations Secretary General’s Envoy of Youth, criticising India for adopting a policy of “obfuscation and deceit” towards Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
Ali Ziyad, the Kashmiri youth delegate, US, addressing the meet, alleged that “India has denied the right of self-determination to the people of J&K”, adding, “Succeeding generations of Kashmiri youth and children have suffered at the hands of Indian brutality.”
Those who participated in the debate included Volkan Bozkır, President of the UN General Assembly; Olof Skoog, Ambassador, Head of the European Union Delegation; and Jayathma Wickramanayake, UN Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth. In all, 43 youth delegates from six continents participated in the debate.
Calling the Government of India action on J&K to abrogate Articles 370 and 35A on August 5 “illegal and unilateral”, Ziyad said, ever since “atrocities have redoubled”, claiming, “During the last 14 months, India has illegally detained 13,000 Kashmiri youth, tortured many of them, summarily executed young boys, put down protests violently.”
Ziyad continued, the atrocity was in “full display when in a fake encounter it killed three young people, one of whom was only18 years old. The Indian army had initially termed the three individuals as ‘terrorists’ but later reluctantly, and for the first time in 33 years, acknowledged the occurrence of a fake encounter.”
Seeking “peaceful resolution of Kashmir dispute in accordance with relevant resolutions of the Security Council which have promised the people of J&K their right of self-determination”, Ziyad’s intervention at the UN youth meet comes close on the heels of Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary General, Washington-based World Kashmir Awareness Forum, insisting on on a tripartite dialogue between Pakistan, India and Kashmiri representations, to begin with.
Stating that a similar view was expressed by Dr Moeed Yusuf, special advisor to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on national security and strategic policy in an interview with senior journalist Karan Thapar, Dr Fai communicated to the UN general secretary, said, “The contemporary history of South Asia is abundantly clear that bilateral efforts have never met with success.”
According to him, “The agreement between India and pro-India Kashmiri leaders, like Sheikh Abdullah, failed because they sought to bypass Pakistan. Similarly, the agreements between India and Pakistan, like Tashkent Declaration and Simla Agreement failed because they sought to by pass the Kashmiri leadership.”
He added, “All these attempts served only to prolong the dispute, leaving the basic issue unsettled and preserved the stalemate. Although the Simla Agreement of 1972 is irrelevant to the Kashmir dispute, yet it did visualize a ‘final settlement’, but failed for a concrete course of action toward determining Kashmir’s status by the will of its people.”
According to Dr Fai, “The people of Kashmir believe that the conversion of Line of Control (LoC) into an international border is a non-solution. Such an idea is an insult to the intelligence of the people of Kashmir. The LoC is a problem and cannot become a solution.”
Ali Ziyad, the Kashmiri youth delegate, US, addressing the meet, alleged that “India has denied the right of self-determination to the people of J&K”, adding, “Succeeding generations of Kashmiri youth and children have suffered at the hands of Indian brutality.”
Those who participated in the debate included Volkan Bozkır, President of the UN General Assembly; Olof Skoog, Ambassador, Head of the European Union Delegation; and Jayathma Wickramanayake, UN Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth. In all, 43 youth delegates from six continents participated in the debate.
Calling the Government of India action on J&K to abrogate Articles 370 and 35A on August 5 “illegal and unilateral”, Ziyad said, ever since “atrocities have redoubled”, claiming, “During the last 14 months, India has illegally detained 13,000 Kashmiri youth, tortured many of them, summarily executed young boys, put down protests violently.”
Ziyad continued, the atrocity was in “full display when in a fake encounter it killed three young people, one of whom was only18 years old. The Indian army had initially termed the three individuals as ‘terrorists’ but later reluctantly, and for the first time in 33 years, acknowledged the occurrence of a fake encounter.”
Seeking “peaceful resolution of Kashmir dispute in accordance with relevant resolutions of the Security Council which have promised the people of J&K their right of self-determination”, Ziyad’s intervention at the UN youth meet comes close on the heels of Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary General, Washington-based World Kashmir Awareness Forum, insisting on on a tripartite dialogue between Pakistan, India and Kashmiri representations, to begin with.
Stating that a similar view was expressed by Dr Moeed Yusuf, special advisor to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on national security and strategic policy in an interview with senior journalist Karan Thapar, Dr Fai communicated to the UN general secretary, said, “The contemporary history of South Asia is abundantly clear that bilateral efforts have never met with success.”
According to him, “The agreement between India and pro-India Kashmiri leaders, like Sheikh Abdullah, failed because they sought to bypass Pakistan. Similarly, the agreements between India and Pakistan, like Tashkent Declaration and Simla Agreement failed because they sought to by pass the Kashmiri leadership.”
He added, “All these attempts served only to prolong the dispute, leaving the basic issue unsettled and preserved the stalemate. Although the Simla Agreement of 1972 is irrelevant to the Kashmir dispute, yet it did visualize a ‘final settlement’, but failed for a concrete course of action toward determining Kashmir’s status by the will of its people.”
According to Dr Fai, “The people of Kashmir believe that the conversion of Line of Control (LoC) into an international border is a non-solution. Such an idea is an insult to the intelligence of the people of Kashmir. The LoC is a problem and cannot become a solution.”
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