|

Modi – Sharif Meeting Offers Hope for Peace In South Asia: Dr. Fai

Articles, Uncategorised
Washington, D.C. May 28, 2014. “The meeting between Mr. Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India and Mian Nawaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of Pakistan in New Delhi on May 27, 2014 offers hope for peace in South Asia if the course of justice is followed and both leaders undertake to abide by their international commitments.  The people of Kashmir want the people of India and Pakistan to live in peace and prosperity.  That is why they believe that Kashmir conflict has to be resolved not through military means but through peaceful tripartite negotiations between Governments of India and Pakistan & the people of Kashmir, stated Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary General, World Kashmir Awareness at Baltimore Convention Center.
 
Speaking on the topic of ‘Kashmir Dispute: Opportunities and Challenges “ to a large gathering during the 39th Annual Convention of ICNA-MAS, Fai said that this change in atmosphere will lead to the use of friendlier language in relations between the two governments.  The change reflects only partly the warm, spontaneous exchanges at the popular level which have blown away the perverse thesis, sometimes muttered even by foreign powers, that hostility between the two peoples is innate and can never be eradicated.
 
It is a fact that peace, amity, and harmony between India and Pakistan will open vistas of opportunities to shift resources to domestic development.  It is also a fact that the nuclear capabilities of the South Asian nations heighten their responsibility to avoid conflict that could conclude with a gruesome mushroom cloud.
 
The persistence of Kashmir problem has been a source of weakness for both India and Pakistan.  It has diminished both these neighboring countries. So long as Kashmir is in turmoil, India and Pakistan will be at loggerheads and economic investment and trade relations will be inconsequential.
 
Fai proposed that now is an opportune moment for both India and Pakistan  to defuse the present situation and promote stability throughout the region.  Both prime Ministers should understand that any attempt to strike a deal between two without the association of the third, will fail to yield a credible settlement.  The contemporary history of South Asia is abundantly clear that bilateral efforts have never met with success. Both leaders should take an active role in finding a lasting settlement on Kashmir.  It is obvious that no settlement can last if it is not based on justice to the people of Kashmir and recognition of their inherent rights.  Only then can the crisis in South Asia and the possible disastrous consequences be averted.
      
The essential guiding principles of the negotiating process must be not to answer what is the correct or best solution of the Kashmir problem but how that solution can be arrived at.  In other words, it should by itself neither promote nor preclude any rational settlement of the dispute, be it accession to India or Pakistan or independence.  Rather than seek to impose a settlement on Kashmir, it should engage the peoples of each region of the former State of Jammu and Kashmir to work out a settlement themselves without any external constraint.
   
We do not need to invoke principles because principles will not help us launch a peace process.  Principles can be easily twisted and the principles can lend themselves to different interpretations.  But the principles that are involved in the Kashmir dispute should remain the guiding force in any final settlement. What are these principles?  There are two: It is the inherent right of the people of all zones of the State of Jammu & Kashmir to decide their future according to their own free will and second principle is that it is impossible to ascertain that will except through a vote under impartial supervision in conditions which are free from external coercion, intimidation and compulsion.

Similar Posts

  • |

    Kashmir Needs Political And Not Military Solution: Dr. Fai

    Baltimore, Maryland. April 17, 2017. Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary General of ‘World Kashmir Awareness Forum’ voiced his continuing belief that the conflict over Kashmir cannot be resolved through military means. Kashmir is a political issue and has to be resolved through political means by involving all parties to the conflict – the Governments of India & Pakistan and the legitimate leadership of the Kashmiri resistance. He was speaking on the subject of Kashmir at the 42nd Annual Convention of ‘Islamic Circle of North America’ at Baltimore Convention Center. More than 20,000 people participated in this year’s convention. Other panelists included: Mr. Adem Carroll, Dr. M. A. Dhar, Dr. Nakibur Rahman and Bro. Tariq Rehman.

  • |

    Kashmir: Urgency in dialogue process

    “All of us remain concerned that the issue of Jammu and Kashmir should be solved through peaceful negotiations and should be willing to lend all the strength we have to the resolution of this matter.” President Nelson Mandela at the NAM Summit – September 2, 1998

    In matters of international conflict resolution, that can only imply the involvement of a third party mediator or facilitator. If Ashok and Ahmad can’t put Humpty Dumpty back together because they can’t agree on where the pieces go, then Sam, a specialist in eggshell reconstruction, should be called upon in order for differences to be resolved. Most importantly, without a third party’s impartial diligence in pursuing a settlement, breakdowns in lines of communication or other disputes that may arise will inevitably create barriers to resolution, and the process will fail. The side in the dispute which offers initiatives will always be seen as weak when both are out rattling their sabres; hence no progress can be made.

  • |

    The fundamental human rights are universal: Dr. Fai

    Washington, D.C. December 10, 2012. “The fundamental human rights are universal. That is the tacit assumption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which needs to be applauded. Even if all of its lofty provisions safeguarding fundamental human freedoms and liberties remain dishonored in many parts of the globe, it stands as a moral reproach to wrong doing nations that may facilitate reform,” said Dr. Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai from Cumber Prison Camp in Maryland, USA.

  • |

    Six-Point Agenda To Resolve Kashmir Crisis: Dr. Fai

    San Francisco. March 29, 2014. Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary General of “World Kashmir Awareness” has announced a six point agenda to set a stage for the resolution of Kashmir issue. He was addressing a well represented seminar entitled “Kashmir: A reminder to the American policy makers,” here at Fremont, California. The event was sponsored by the American Muslim Alliance and Pakistani American Democratic Forum which are headed by a well-known political scientist, Dr. Agha Saeed. Mr. Mike Gravel, former member of the U.S Senate, Mr. Naeem Baig, President of Islamic Circle of North America and Dr. Hatem Bazian – a prominent Arab American leader spoke on the event.