WASHINGTON - A prominent Kashmiri leader has called on the new United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, to address with "supreme urgency" the decades-old Kashmir dispute between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan so as to promote peace and security in South Asia.
In a statement, Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary-General of World Kashmir Awareness, dismissed New Delhi's claim that Kashmir was an integral part of India, stating its stand, which was in violation of UN resolutions envisaging self-determination for the Kashmiri people, had prolonged and exacerbated the conflict between India and Pakistan.
"The alignment of States on both sides - for and against India - has serious global implications and poses the threat of another nuclear war."
In his statement, Fai gave background of the Kashmir dispute, drew attention to the gross human rights violations taking place there and made a strong case for the implementation of United Nations resolutions that call for a UN-sponsored plebiscite in the Himalayan state to determine the wishes of the people of Kashmiris.
He fervently urged the UN chief to help resolve the conflict over Kashmir where the situation had worsened since last July when Indian occupation forces killed a popular Kashmiri youth leader, Burhan Wani, heightening tensions between India and Pakistan.
"There cannot be a better agency than the Secretary-General of the United Nations himself to mediate or facilitate between the parties concerned," Fai said.
"Yes, there will be resistance from India, but if India is impressed with what she would gain by a just settlement of the Kashmir dispute, her negativity may not be insurmountable."
Guterres, a national of Portugal, assumed his functions as world's top diplomat on January 1.
"As a native of Portugal, you are no doubt familiar with the seizure of Goa in 1961, a State formerly part of the sovereignty of Portugal," Fai recalled.
"There are similarities between India’s actions toward Goa and its current behaviour toward Kashmir.
Portugal sought to secure a referendum in which the people of Goa would decide the fate of that State, when the issue arose over India’s claim to it. India instead used force to take it, despite international Opposition to military alternatives. Such is the case with Kashmir," he said.
"A plebiscite has been promised to the people of Kashmir since 1948, but through various ploys, India has not permitted it, and now claims that Kashmir is an integral part of India," the Kashmiri leader added.
Source: The Nation
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