Kashmiris’ Wishes Must Be Respected: Dr. Fai
Washington, D.C. June 29, 2012. “Any Kashmir solution that fails to command the consensus of the 17 million people of Jammu & Kashmir is doomed to shipwreck moments after launching. Indeed, any process that ignores the wishes of the people of Kashmir will not only prove to be an exercise in futility but can also cause incalculable human and political damage. Thus, it makes no sense to negotiate over their heads. The best that could result from these meaningless negotiations would be sound and fury signifying nothing, as at Tashkent, Simla, Lahore and elsewhere,” said Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai at a reception held in his honor in Darnestown, Maryland.
Dr. Fai thanked the members of the Kashmiri American community for becoming instrumental in highlighting the issue of Kashmir not only in Washington, D. C. but in New York City as well. He told his well-wishers that the people of the Indian Occupied Kashmir remain indebted to them for their relentless and consistent advocacy for the just cause of Kasshmir.
“India’s policy towards Kashmir has been uniformly trickery and deceitful. It initially championed, fashioned, and expressly accepted United Nations Security Council resolutions mandating a self‑determination plebiscite in Kashmir administered by the United Nations. India soon dishonored its obligation when it perceived Kashmiris would never vote accession to Indian sovereignty in a free and fair election. It unilaterally proclaimed Kashmir had fallen into its territorial universe irrespective of international law and the contrary insistence of the United Nations,” Fai added.
Dr. Fai demonstrated Kashmir’s international law and moral right to self-determination every bit if not more compelling than the self-determination honored in East Timor in 1999 and in Southern Sudan in 2011. In a free and fair plebiscite, the overwhelming percentage of the 17 million people of Kashmir would vote for ‘Aazadi’ – freedom from occupation. Further, a Kashmiri nation would be a model of democracy and religious pluralism. Kashmiris of all faiths have historically enjoyed amicable and harmonious relations.
Fai explained that in Kashmir, during its centuries of virtual independence, communal violence or abrasiveness was unknown between Muslims, Pundits, Buddhists, and Sikhs. Kashmiris, he added, shared values and a heritage that far transcended religious divide. Historically, Dr. Fai noted, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Muslims in Kashmir lived in amity and warmth. Sectarian squabbles have been rare. But this serenity was destroyed by the onset of India’s illegal military occupation of Kashmir on October 27, 1947.
Fai said that the people of Kashmir share a vision of peace and stability between India and Pakistan, and of progress and prosperity for their people .The people of Kashmir always 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 through peaceful tripartite negotiations and not through military means.
He emphasized that durable peace and development of harmonious relations and friendly cooperation will serve the vital interests of the peoples of India & Pakistan, enabling them to devote their energies for a better future. It is also true that recognizing that the nuclear dimension of the security environment of the two countries adds to their responsibility for avoidance of conflict between them.
Dr. Fai reminded President Obama to listen to an Indian scholar, Pankaj Mishra who wrote in ‘The New York Review of Books’ on December 8, 2008 that “The road to stability in Pakistan and Afghanistan runs through the Valley of Kashmir,”; to a Pakistani scholar, Ahmed Rashid who wrote in ‘Foreign Policy’ on November 11, 2010 that “The road to Kabul runs through Kashmir,” and to Admiral Mike Mullen, who spoke at ‘Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’ on September 10, 2011 that “Solving the complicated issue of Kashmir would also unlock many issues between India and Pakistan.”
Fai also pleaded with President Obama to persuade the Indian Prime Minister to cease repression of Kashmiris; release political prisoners; allow access to international human rights organizations; restore full political and human rights, such as political dissent, assembly, and association, and the freedom to travel abroad; repeal all draconian laws; and start a dialogue with the genuine leadership of the people of Kashmir and Pakistan. Talks between India, Pakistan and Kashmiris should start without preconditions, and without further delay.
Dr. Fai stressed that India should and ultimately will come to believe that its security and economic interests will be strengthened, not weakened, by acceding to a self-determination plebiscite in Kashmir as mandated by the United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Those who spoke at the reception included: Mr. Liaqat Kayani (Host), Sardar Zarif Khan, Dr. Mossadiq Qadri, Sardar Zulfiqar Khan, Mr. Karamat Hussain, Mr. Zubair Khan, Mr. Hamid Malik, Sardar Asghar Khan.