UN Secretary General's letter praises Pakistan
Shares
ISLAMABAD: (APP) Foreign Policy experts and analysts Friday welcomed the statement of UN Secretary General on the situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir, and termed it a success of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's diplomatic initiative.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon in response to a letter from Prime Minister Sharif, in which he had apprised him about the grave situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir, has deplored the loss of life and hoped for efforts to avoid further violence; and offered his good offices to facilitate dialogue for a negotiated settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
The UN Secretary General has also appreciated the continued commitment of Pakistan to the peaceful resolution of Kashmir dispute for the sake of regional peace and security.
Foreign Policy experts and analysts termed the UN Secretary General's statement as a "positive" and "encouraging" development and said the Prime Minister's initiative would help further highlight at international level the issue of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir as well as the continued violation of human rights there.
Lt. Gen. (R) Talat Masood, a defence and foreign policy analyst, while talking to APP welcomed the UN Secretary General's statement as very "positive" and "encouraging", and said the statement was in a way endorsement of Pakistan's approach which it has been pursuing for several years for the peaceful settlement of the dispute.
He, however, mentioned the persistent rigid attitude of India towards the resolution of Jammu and Kashmir dispute and declining the mediation by international community and said, "I hope India will now respect the UN Secretary General's offer of facilitating the dialogue".
Prof Dr Pervez Iqbal Cheema, a foreign policy expert, said the UN Secretary General's statement on Kashmir was the result of Pakistan's efforts to highlight the issue and persuade the world on the need of resolving this dispute.
He said as the whole world was watching the continued grave human rights violations by India in the Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan's persistent positive role will impact the world conscience.
Prof Cheema said Pakistan besides raising the issue of human rights violation in Occupied Kashmir at UN General Assembly should use all international fora particularly the Human Rights bodies for highlighting the Indian atrocities against innocent Kashmiris.
Dr Zafar Nawaz Jaspal, who heads the Political and International Relations Department at Quaid-e-Azam University, said the UN Secretary General's statement in response to the Prime Minister's letter initiative will further highlight the issue of Kashmir as well as the Indian atrocities in Occupied Kashmir.
Dr Moonis Ahmar, head of IR Department at Karachi University, said Pakistan should make every effort including lobbying at UN, approaching the like-minded countries and taking the OIC member countries on board to put pressure on India for the resolution of Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Resolutions that pledged a free and fair plebiscite for right of self-determination by Kashmiris.
