EDITORIAL: His words have special resonance for the Kashmiri people UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Volkan Bozkir on a three-day visit to Pakistan took strong exception to India’s illegal annexation of occupied Jammu and Kashmir, and attempts to change the demographic composition of the disputed region by issuing domicile certificates to Indians to take up residence and buy properties in the disputed region. Speaking at a news conference on Thursday alongside Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, he called on all parties “to refrain from taking steps that could affect the status of Jammu and Kashmir”, adding “this is the most important part of how we look at the case.” The issue, he noted, is governed by the UN Charter (which calls for settlement of international disputes through peaceful means and in conformity with principles of justice and international law) applicable Security Council resolutions, and the Simla Agreement of 1972, “which state that the final status of Jammu and Kashmir is to be settled by peaceful means.” Unfortunately, international law and UN resolutions are implemented only selectively, in situations where the interests of big powers are involved.
The UNGA president agreed with Qureshi when he drew a parallel between the situation in the illegally Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and the Israeli occupied Palestinian territories – the two longest occupations in modern history. Nonetheless, he averred that Kashmir lacked the level of international support that the Palestine issue draws out. To be sure, the latter issue gets as much attention as it does because the oppressor in that case is a darling of the ‘leader of the free world’, the United States of America. The Western counties may like to act as the standard-bearers of human rights but they have no qualms about ignoring the appalling human rights violations and abuses as well as defiance of UNSC resolutions by India because of their economic and geo-strategic interests. It is imperative, therefore, that other nations join hands to support a just cause. Towards that end, Volkan Bozkir offered his good offices to hold a debate in the UNGA if asked by Pakistan along with a group of like-mined nations. That should not be difficult for Pakistan to organise considering that the OIC now seems quite ready to promote the Kashmir issue, whilst China along with certain other countries would be more than willing to sign up for such a debate.
The UNGA, of course, does not have the authority to ensure implementation of its resolutions, yet it represents the will of the majority of the UN member states. The proposed debate in this forum may not bring about any change in New Delhi’s illegal and immoral policies towards IIOJK but it will help Pakistan keep the issue alive at the international level. Sooner or later the dispute will have to be resolved, like it has been the case in several other instances.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021