GENEVA – Pakistan’s UN Deputy Permanent Representative in Geneva invokedJawaharlal Nehru to make his case for a plebiscite in Kashmir.
Andrabi said that at the heart of the Kashmir problem is the right toself-determination which was conceded by “the first Prime Minister ofIndia, one of the founding fathers of India” and by the UN Security Councilthrough a plebiscite.
In response Indian diplomat Kumum said, “Pakistan keeps referring to UNSecurity Council Resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir. However, it veryconveniently forgets its own obligation under these resolutions to firstvacate the illegal occupation of Azad Kashmir. It has also blatantlydisregarded its other commitments, be it under the 1972 Simla Agreement orLahore Declaration of February 1999.”
Instead, “they continue to support cross-border militancy in India,” shesaid.
In the Simla Agreement signed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi andthen-Pakistan President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the two countries agreed thatthe Kashmir issue is a bilateral issue that has to be resolved withoutthird party involvement.
The Lahore Declaration by Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee of India andNawaz Sharif of Pakistan commits the two nations to avoid a nuclear armsrace.
In “gross violation” of a Council, the UN-designated terrorists like HafizMohammed Saeed are “freely operating with State support, and the UNdesignated entities are being politically mainstreamed in Pakistan,” sheadded.
Andrabi also accused India of “crimes against humanity” in Kashmir and ofescalating ceasefire violations along the line of control and the borderwith his country as a diversionary tactic.
On Thursday, he said that the Office of the Human Rights Commissioner “mustnot falter in documenting human rights abuses by India and recognise thatroot of the problem is illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir.”
But “the real problem in the State of Jammu and Kashmir is terrorism, whichhas constantly received sustenance from Pakistan and territories under itscontrol,” Kumam said in reply. “We urge the Council to call on Pakistan toend cross border infiltration.
She listed the various human rights violations against minorities inPakistan and demanded remedies for them.