Moon Desk: Unresolved issue of Indian occupied Kashmir has embroiled the region since last more than 76 years. The situation has deteriorated to the extent that there is recurring threat that if left unresolved it may catapult into a major warfare between two nuclear armed neighbors – India and Pakistan. The conflagration in all likelihood will engulf the regions beyond south Asia and it is believed that catastrophe may swallow half of the population of the world.
In order to find a tangible solution to this protracted problem we have delve deep into the genesis of the issue and consider changing geopolitical situation that makes it more ominous. On January 5, 1949, United Nations accepted the disputed nature of the state of Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan.
On this date the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) guaranteed the right of the Kashmiri people to determine their future by stating “The question of the accession of the State of Jammu and Kashmir to India or Pakistan will be decided through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite.’
The genuine leadership of Indian occupied Kashmir directly and indirectly have fervently appealed to the UN and other international bodies to pay heed to their pleas and impress upon India to put an end to this coercion and to fulfill their commitments.
In 1990 freedom loving people of Kashmir were enthralled and enchanted by the statement of 42nd President of United States when Kuwait was occupied by Iraqi forces. President Bush said “Out of these troubled times, our objective – a new world order – can emerge: a new era, freer from the threat of terror, stronger in the pursuit of justice, and more secure in the quest for peace.
The onus lies on the UN to dispel the notion that this august body is not a country club for rich, razzing, and dazzling powers wherein ornate building fate of “lesser children of god” are decided by selected few. The time is opportune for the UN to get engaged with this issue, prevail upon India to implement the resolutions, and provide succor to people of Kashmir. Doing so will provide glimmer of hope not only to Kashmiris but to other oppressed people of the world, especially when the clouds of war are hovering across the continents and rumblings of major conflicts are clearly audible.
