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Letter: Kashmir dispute
It is not clear to me what Aziz Butt (The Jakarta Post, Nov
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t is not clear to me what Aziz Butt (The Jakarta Post, Nov. 30, p. 8) is trying to convey in his letter “Remarks on Kashmir unacceptable.” All I could understand from it is his concern in addressing and solving this problem early.
I don’t know anybody who would oppose that! In the absence of the information regarding whether Butt is an Indian, a Pakistani or a Kashmiri Indian living in Kashmir or a Kashmiri Pakistani living in occupied Kashmir, it is difficult to address my response.
What does he mean by “leaving the area to Kashmiris”? Indians in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) are already “free” because they have participated in every election held there. This clearly brings out that Kashmiris have very much been left to themselves, doesn’t it?
The government of Pakistan should undertake to use its best endeavors:
To secure the withdrawal from the State of Jammu and Kashmir of tribesmen and Pakistani nationals not normally resident therein who have entered the State for the purposes of fighting, and to prevent any intrusion into the State of such elements and any furnishing of material aid to those fighting in the State.
To make known to all concerned that the measures indicated in this and the following paragraphs provide full freedom to all subjects of the State, regardless of creed, caste, or party, to express their views and to vote on the question of the accession of the State, and that therefore they should cooperate in the maintenance of peace and order.
Actually, Pakistan has never completed the first step of the resolution and only talks of the second stage of Plebiscite.
Thus Pakistan should ask itself why it has failed to meet its basic obligation.
Of course, by now, we Indians are used to Pakistan’s style of making mistakes and blaming the whole world for the outcome including their blaming the whole world for a lack of enthusiasm in helping Pakistan’s flood-affected citizen when its own rich and elite class hadn’t paid their taxes!
Having realized that it has no chance of winning the plebiscite (if and when is held) for the merger of J&K with Pakistan, it has now started promoting J&K as an independent state!
Are we now talking of remaining unfulfilled actions of 1948 or a new demand for an independent state? If the former, the ball is clearly in Pakistan’s court. It can speak on this issue only after fulfilling its obligations.
K.B. Kale
Jakarta
