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Kashmir is an international issue and not internal matter of India

Articles, Uncategorised

Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary General, World Kashmir Awareness said that Ms. Sushma Suraj’s assertion at the United Nations that Kashmir was an integral part of India was factually and legally wrong statement. Because under all international agreements, accepted by both India & Pakistan, negotiated by the United Nations and endorsed by the Security Council, Kashmir does not belong to any member state of the United Nations. If Kashmir does not belong to any member state of the United Nations, then the claim of Ms. Sushma Suraj that Kashmir was an integral part of India does not stand. Again, if Kashmir was not the integral part of India, then Kashmiris cannot be and should not be called secessionist or separatist, because Kashmiris cannot secede from a country – like India to which they have never acceded to in the first place.

Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry, former Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir said “We believe that for the peace process to achieve an equitable and lasting settlement of the dispute, it must fully associate the representatives of the people of Jammu & Kashmir; and provided for each successive step towards settlement being supervised by the United Nations or any impartial agreed body set up for the purpose.” Barrister added that no solution to the Kashmir problem will be credible if it involves coercion on the people of the State by any external party.

Mr. Ishtiyaq Hameed, Representative of All Parties Hurriyet Conference said , “The dialogue process must not be only between India and Pakistan rather India and Pakistan must initiate the dialogue process with the genuine leadership of the people of Kashmir – the leadership that represents the broader spectrum of the opinion of the people of Kashmir from both sides of the Cease-fire Line.

Dr. Imtiaz Khan, President, Kashmiri American Council said, “The world powers must remind both India and Pakistan that the final status of Jammu & Kashmir is yet to be determined and it has to be decided by the people of Jammu & Kashmir.” Dr. Khan added that the world powers must stress to the Government of India to allow humanitarian organizations to Kashmir.

Sardar Sawar Khan, former Advisor to the Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir said, “The United Nations has unfinished business in Kashmir. There exist several United Nations resolutions that clearly state the people of Jammu & Kashmir have the right to determine their own future through a free, fair and impartial vote. We are asking the United Nations to follow on its commitment to the people of Kashmir.

Captain Shaheen Bhat, leader of Kashmir American community said, “The Government of India must accept that the United Nations resolutions are binding on both India and Pakistan. It must also accept the fact that Kashmir is a disputed territory and not the internal matter of India.”

Dr. Asif Rehman, former President of AAPNA said, “We advocate a solution to the Kashmir dispute through peaceful negotiations. The Kashmir issue threatens to ignite another war between India and Pakistan both of which are nuclear powers. The United States has the leverage to persuade both India and Pakistan to settle the Kashmir dispute to the satisfaction of the people of Kashmir.

Sardar Imitaz Khan, New Jersey said, “The world powers must endorse the recommendation of the United Nations High Commissioner that an impartial investigation needs to be made about the latest situation in Occupied Kashmir. The United Nations must send a fact finding mission to asses the situation there.”

Mr. Rohail Dar, leader of Pakistani American community said that the Government of India has refused the dialogue with both Pakistani and the Kashmiri leadership. It has chosen instead the brutal path of violent crackdown on all political dissent in Occupied Kashmir. In doing so, India is committing brutal acts of rape, torture and murder against thousands of innocent civilians.

Mr. Javaid Rathore, Chicago said, “The issue of Kashmir cannot be resolved bilaterally between India and Pakistan. 70 years of failed diplomacy has proven this. It needs the understanding of the world powers, particular the United States to persuade both India and Pakistan that it is in their long term national interest to achieve the settlement of the Kashmir dispute.”

Sardar Amerjit Singh Ji of Khalistan center, Washington said, “Each day that India injures more Kashmir’s and kills countless civilians, it strengthens the sentiments of Aazadi amongst the general populace and weakens those who still believe that a peaceful settlement should be and can be achieved.” The right of self-determination is the birth right of every single individual, be s/he a Hindu or a Muslim or Sikh.

Mr. Raja Muhammad Yaqub from Chicago said, “Indian army is engaged in serious human rights abuses in Kashmir and we believe that world powers need to know that the so-called ‘world’s most populous democracy’ is a grave offender of the most basic of human rights.’

Sardar Yasin Chohan, Chicago said, “The United Nations has an obligation and a responsibility to facilitate a dialogue amongst all parties to the conflict to secure peace and stability on the South Asian continent.”

Sardar Zarif Khan, Washington, D.C. said, “An impartial mediator needs to help initiate a process of negotiations without pre-conditions from any party. Without an international mediatory, the differences will forever keep the parties divided.”

Others who spoke include: Sardar Imtiaz Garalavi, Sardar Taj Khan, Choudhary Zahoor Akhtar, Qazi Mushtaq Ali, Choudhary Muhammad Ishaq, Mr. Aftab Shah, Sardar Zulfiqar Roshan Khan, Sardar Zubair Khan, Raja Liaqat Kiyani, Mr. Hamid Malik.

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    Dr. Fai Addressed a Forum of Journalists in Washington

    WASHINGTON, D.C. June 27, 2012 (APP): Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognized disputed territory and has never been an integral part of India, a veteran Kashmiri leader said.

    “I want to debunk this myth created by India that Kashmir is an integral part of India —- this is a matter of historical record that India occupied the region on October 27, 1947 when the very first Indian soldier set foot on the soil of Kashmir —- the highest diplomatic forums including the United Nations and the United States have recognized the disputed nature of the region,” Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai told a forum of journalists in Springfield, Virginia.

    The Kashmiri-American activist said in the post-9/11 world, New Delhi has tried to weave a smokescreen with some unfounded myths, which seek to discredit the genuine struggle of the people. But these ploys will never be able to cover up the reality and sufferings of people in the Occupied Kashmir, he added.

    “India has failingly tried to equate Kashmiri people with terrorists — how can a people, who believe in the UN-mandated right to self-determination and then hold demonstrations to go to the UN office in Srinagar to remind the international community of its pledge, be terrorists? Terrorists don’t believe in the UN system or any other global forum.

    “Also, how can an entire population of millions be dubbed as terrorists when they hold peaceful demonstrations for their promised rights?” he questioned.

    Dr. Fai also said that India would like you to believe that Kashmir is an issue of fundamentalism. He explained that “the term fundamentalism is quite inapplicable to the Kashmiri society. One of the proud distinctions of Kashmir has been the sustained tradition of tolerance and amity between the members of different religious communities. It has a long tradition of moderation and non-violence. Its culture does not generate extremism or fundamentalism. The fact is that Kashmir conflict was never a fight between Hindus and Muslims. It was never a struggle between theocracy and secularism. Nor was it a border dispute between India and Pakistan. It has always been about the hopes and future of 17 million people of Kashmir, be they Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs or Buddhists.”

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    Kashmir Awareness Campaign

    The purpose of this paper is to provide you with a plan to mount an educational and  awareness campaign in support of self-determination in Jammu & Kashmir and to enlist the support of foreign embassies in your country, NGO’s (both international and national) and media (both international and national)  to persuade India and Pakistan to include Kashmiri leadership in any future dialogue that will lead to the settlement of the Kashmir dispute.

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    Be Back Soon

    Be Back Soon

    Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai

    Washington, D.C.
    Tuesday, July 10, 2012

    Saying goodbye is sometimes easy but sometimes a very difficult thing to do, particularly when I am saying goodbye, though temporarily, to freedom and to a mission that I have given my life to. But the real goodbye is not the words that I have formed in my head because there are none that express how I really feel. The goodbye is in a slowly swelling sense of absence of all the people and places and efforts I have put my heart into that has become like a flower near a pond that may dry up for lack of rain. Its sustenance is going away. The absence is the letting go of all the things that I embrace. How does one let go of love? How does one let go of one’s heart, one’s very life? A life is not merely held within one’s blood circulating in the body or in the breath that one takes. It is so much more in all the people that I have lived for and my beloved country of origin, Kashmir – the paradise on earth.

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    President Obama Can Help Bring Peace in South Asia

    “We should probably try to facilitate a better understanding between Pakistan and India and try to resolve the Kashmir crisis…” President Obama, October 30, 2008
     
    Your planned visit to India has inspired hopes, in the hearts of Americans of Kashmiri origin, that your global statesmanship may move the frozen dispute over the status of Kashmir towards a settlement based on justice and rationality. We would hasten to add that while we are fully aware of the multiplicity of issues that you will be devoting your time and attention during your forthcoming visit to India, you may perhaps like to remember that Kashmir is not a new issue, having been on the agenda of and in the cognizance of the United Nations for nearly 68 years.  Ironically, it is the only entity in the region of South Asia which has so far been denied the opportunity to determine its political future.
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    To call Kashmir a territorial dispute is to dehumanize it: Ambassador Buch

    November 12, 2017. New York. “It was an honor to have an hour-long meeting with Ambassador Yusuf Buch at his residence in New York City,” said Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary General, World Kashmir Awareness Forum. While paying homage to Ambassador Buch’s life in exile, Fai said: “Ambassador Yusuf Buch born in Srinagar (Capitol City of Kashmir) was along with few other promising and brilliant youth exiled from the state in 1947 for his political beliefs. Mr. Buch was the Senior Advisor to the United Nations Secretary General for 20 years. His contribution to Kashmir cause has been legendary ever since Kashmir dispute was brought to the United Nations by India in 1948. Working in tandem with Kashmiri diaspora, Ambassador Buch had added vibrancy to the Kashmir cause. The nation of Kashmir salutes his commitment and dedication, and pay tribute to his inspirational spirit. Ambassador Buch is undoubtedly, a living encyclopedia on Kashmir.”