There were hopes last week when the Indian and Pakistani prime ministers met in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly that concrete steps would be pursued for a lasting peace between the two nuclear-armed countries. Many issues troubling the two neighbors were tabled, but perhaps the most emotional and contentious one was that of Kashmir, an unresolved difference hampering Indian-Pakistani relations for the past 66 years. Both countries accuse the other of illegally occupying the territory of Kashmir. In addressing the world leaders, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that the UN needed to resolve the issue of Jammu and Kashmir and the realization of the right of self-determination there. “The suffering of the people cannot be brushed under the carpet, because of power politics. The issue of Jammu and Kashmir was presented to the Security Council in January 1948; and yet the issue remains unresolved after nearly seven decades.” As for India, the Pakistani PM said he would like to pursue mutual cooperation and benefit through dialogue. “We stand ready to re-engage with India in a substantive and purposeful dialogue. I am looking forward to meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here in New York to make a new beginning. We have a solid basis to do that. We can build on the Lahore Accord signed in 1999, which contained a road map for the resolution of our differences through peaceful negotiations. I am committed to working for a peaceful and economically prosperous region. This is what our people want and this is what I have long aspired for.” The Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh in his address touched upon the Pakistani offer. “Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan spoke of making a new beginning. I reciprocate his sentiments and am looking forward to meeting him tomorrow. India is committed sincerely to resolving all issues with Pakistan, including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, through bilateral dialogue on the basis of the Simla Agreement. … There must be a clear understanding of the fact that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and that there can never, ever, be a compromise with the unity and territorial integrity of India.” Pro-Kashmir independence lobbying groups criticized Dr. Singh's speech and some accused the Indian politician of "mall fide" or unjust intentions. Sardar Asad Ullah Khan, Chairman Youth Forum for Kashmir, said the Indian prime minister's reference to a bilateral agreement between Pakistan and India as a starting point for resolving the dispute over Kashmir was not acceptable to Kashmiris. “Singh's statement is not acceptable to Kashmiris, especially his reference to the Simla Agreement of 1972. Kashmiris don't accept the Simla Agreement. We want the resolution of the Kashmir dispute according to UN resolutions passed by the Security Council in 1948,” he said. A Kashmiri from Rawalakot, Sardar Asad Ullah Khan came down heavily on the Indian foreign minister Salman Khurshid, and accused him of working for lobbies in India that want to scuttle peace in the region. The PakNationalist website said that "India does not allow foreign media into occupied Kashmir. Last year, Western media uncovered thousands of unmarked graves across Kashmir, mostly young Kashmiris arbitrarily executed by India's occupation army to stem an unprecedented uprising against Indian military occupation. Indian soldiers are regularly involved in cases of systematic rape of women in order to pressure their men folk into submission." The launch of #YFK is part of this revival, where Pakistani and Kashmiri youth have come together to form a political lobbying group to bring Kashmir back to the top of Pakistan's India policy agenda. The lobbying effort lists some big names among Pakistani and Kashmiri businessmen as its financiers. Unfortunately, the people of Kashmir have remained the ones paying the heavy price. But it is refreshing that a cordial dialogue between the two prime ministers has been revived. There are many global conflicts that are often kept alive because of self-interest with nary a thought for the enormous human suffering they spawn. It would appear to an alien from outer space that the human race is purposely headed to self-destruction and oblivion. So many of our conflicts could be resolved if leaders would stop to consider the humane aspects. Suppression by military force ultimately results in unbridled militancy, and we are witnessing the aftereffects of such sordid actions around the world. It is high time that the leaders of both India and Pakistan address the issue of Kashmir along UN resolution lines, and allow the Kashmiris to determine their own fate. Kashmir needs not be Pakistani or Indian if their people so desire. That right of self-determination was granted to them under United Nations Security Council Resolution 47 in 1948. Let them exercise it.
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