|

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

  • |

    ‘Global partnership for sustainable development in the context of the post-2015 development agenda’

     
    I am honored by the opportunity to share my views with such an esteemed audience who are participating in the ‘United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’ at UN headquarters in New York. The issue of global sustainable development is the issue of the twenty-first century. Never before have so many suffered amidst liberty and luxury for the few. The wealth of single individuals exceeds the wealth of many nations. In highly developed countries, the number of persons living past 80 years is soaring. 
  • |

    Kashmiris stage huge demonstration in front of the White House

    Washington, D.C. May 22, 2017. Hundreds of Kashmiri Americans – men, women and children – from various states in the United States staged their huge rally in front of the White House. They were demanding United Nations – assured right of self-determination.

    Raising slogans of: “Kashmiri Lives Matter Too” “Kashmir in Pain: India in Shame” “Indian Forces: Out of Kashmir” “Demilitarize Kashmir” “U.N. Implement Resolutions on Kashmir” “Stop Forced Disappearances and Torture in Kashmir,” the marchers held candle light vigil on the sidewalk of the White House.

    Syed Ali Geelani, ‘the Keynote Speaker’ called on the world leaders to persuade India and Pakistan to initiate a meaningful dialogue with the Kashmiri leadership to settle the Kashmir dispute once and for all. He suggested that it is better for Indian authorities to shun its stubborn approach and resolve this long pending issue. “The Indian army is unleashing a new wave of terror, killing dozens and maiming hundreds of unarmed protesters, utilizing bullets and lethal pellet-guns aimed to kill and maim” emphasized Mr. Geelani. He hoped that a new dawn of prosperity, peace and stability will be guaranteed when the Kashmir dispute is resolved to the satisfaction of the people of Kashmir.

  • |

    Is dislocation of UN Office a path to ‘Insaniat” (Humanity) or a broken promise?

    Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai
    Secretary General
    World Kashmir Awareness

    Washington, D.C.
    July 10, 2014

    On July 8, 2014, the Spokesman of Indian Ministry of External Affairs made a formal statement saying, “As far as we (India) are concerned the UNMOGIP (United Nations Military Observer Group in India & Pakistan) has outlived its relevance. This is a consistent stance that we have articulated on several occasions since the Shimla accord.”

    What is the legal ground of the spokesman’s pronouncement? Christopher Hitchens has made it easy to understand when he said; “”Perhaps you notice how the denial is so often the preface to the justification.” And George R.R. Martin confirms it by saying “Most men would rather deny a hard truth than face it.”

    The spokesman has conveniently forgotten that India and Pakistan are signatories to various United Nations Security Council resolutions. These resolutions constitute an agreement because, unlike most resolutions of the Security Council, their provisions were first negotiated with the parties and, it was only after their written consent was obtained that they were adopted by the Security Council.

  • |

    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.
  • |

    Dr. Fai Welcomed Talks Between India and Pakistan

    Washington, D.C. July 6, 2012. Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai has welcomed the foreign secretaries’ talks between New Delhi & Islamabad on July 4 – 5, 2012 where they exchanged views on the issue of Jammu & Kashmir and agreed ‘to continue discussions in a purposeful and forward looking manner with the view to finding a peaceful solution by narrowing divergences and building convergences.’ “These talks offer hope for peace in South Asia if the course of justice is followed and both parties undertake to abide by their commitments. The continuance of talks can only be useful if they reflect a sense of urgency and prepare the ground for an earnest effort at the highest level to frame a step-by-step plan of settlement of the Kashmir dispute. Mere persistence of talks at a level lower than political leadership of the two countries – and that too at a leisurely pace – will in no way defuse the situation. Unintentionally though, it will mock the agony of the people of Kashmir rather than assuage it,” Fai added.

  • |

    Why President Obama Ignores Human Rights in Kashmir

    Since the current uprising in Kashmir began with the killing of Burhan Wani on July 8, the unjustifiable and violent attack with bullets, birdshot from pump-action shotguns and extreme cane beatings by Indian military forces upon many of some 200,000 mourners who attended his funeral, who were in technical violation of a rigid curfew that was established by the police and armed forces, has provoked numerous demonstrations and violent clashes between residents. Demonstrations have occurred across the globe by non-resident Kashmiris and other human rights activists. The curfews and clashes have now been sustained for over five weeks, with limited or no access to the basic necessities of life, including food, power and fuel, and the protests have continued almost unabated, with injuries reaching close to 10,000, deaths over 85, and some 570 at last count left blinded, and many more maimed from what have been euphemistically called “pellet” wounds. While Kashmir has been under siege for many decades by the largest military occupation in the world, the recent uptick in what is nothing less than an effort to terrorize the population into submission and silence has been particularly brutal.