Terrorism won't resolve Kashmir dispute: Shaukat Ali Kashmiri

Geneva (Switzerland), Sept. 27 (ANI): The Chairman of the United Kashmir People National Party, Shaukat Ali Kashmiri has said India has a locus standi on Kashmir, and committing acts of terror won't resolve the Kashmir dispute. Ali said, "I have been saying since the first day that India has a locus standi in Kashmir's jurisprudence. According to UN policies, the perspectives of India and Pakistan have been taken into account." He added that rulers of Kashmir wanted to keep Kashmir independent and therefore, they made a standstill agreement with Pakistan. "They tried to make a standstill agreement with India as well. India did not disagree outrightly but said that they will discuss and then will respond accordingly. But Pakistan responded fully and signed the standstill agreement," he said. "The standstill agreement was that Pakistan would not interfere in the matters of Kashmir and Kashmir won't interfere in Pakistan's matters. This meant that Kashmir's land won't be used against Pakistan or Pakistan's land won't be used against Kashmir. But, unfortunately after the standstill agreement, Pakistan invaded Kashmir on 22nd October through tribal people and then a regular army invaded headed by General Akbar Khan," he added. Recounting the incidents thereafter, Shaukat Ali said, "After this, a resolution was passed in United Nations Security Council which is known as the 17th January, 1948 resolution. In the resolution, Pakistan was asked to vacate the areas that they occupied in Kashmir and also withdraw all the people who had come to fight in Kashmir. There was a truce agreement after this, which Pakistan and India accepted. But, there was a role for both India and Pakistan in the truce agreement. Both the parties were asked to withdraw armies." "Srinagar government had legitimacy in the resolution and was to keep an administrative government and areas like Gilgit-Baltistan and PoK under the supervision of United Nations was to be handed over to local authorities and then Kashmir would have been unified. All the infiltrators were to be withdrawn from Kashmir and Pakistan was to vacate the territory along with the maintenance of the law and order situation". He said that the first plebiscite was Kashmir's sovereignty and accession with India. Kashmir was asked to either ratify Treaty of Accession or go back to the position before 1947. But, Pakistan never complied with the United Nations resolutions. It was a prerequisite that Pakistan had to accept it before India. Speaking on the issue of terrorism, he said, "Terrorism is not the solution to this issue. The suffering all over the world today is due to terrorism." He reiterated that those nations which used terrorism as a tool of foreign policy are destabilised today and added that Pakistan is one of those. "Today, Pakistan's society has been destroyed due to terrorism and I have been saying since the first day that Pakistan is destabilising by taking up wrong policies and their own people are suffering," he added. "We want the relation between India and Pakistan to improve and the issues to be resolved amicably," he concluded. As External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj concluded her speech at the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) yesterday; Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated her for an "effective and well-articulated speech" covering a wide range of issues. Apart from the Prime Minister, Union Ministers Venkaiah Naidu, Piyush Goyal, BJP chief Amit Shah, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal extended their compliments through their twitter handles. Speaking at the 71st session of the UNGA in New York, Swaraj highlighted progress in various welfare schemes implemented by the Government of India, which were in tune with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) adopted by most of the members of the UN. She later turned her focus towards combating terrorism and the need to adopt the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT), proposed by New Delhi since 1996, which aims to extradite and prosecute terrorists. She forefronted the important message that terrorism is the biggest human rights violation in the world today and must be fought globally. Swaraj, while criticising Pakistan for creating unrest in Kashmir, asserted that Kashmir valley is an integral part of India. She also criticised Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for accusing India of "committing brutalities in the Kashmir Valley" and for hailing Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani as "young leader." (ANI)