Pakistan’s Kashmir policy needs reset: PESS
Islamabad: President of Pakistan Ex-Servicemen Society (PESS) Lt Gen (Retd) Abdul Qayyum has said that Pakistan’s Kashmir policy needs a reset, stressing that “we need to be proactive rather than reactive.”
According to Kashmir Media Service, Abdul Qayyum expressed these views while addressing a seminar on Kashmir, attended among others by Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir Rana Muhammad Qasim Noon, Senator Dr Zarqa Taimur and Chairman of National Assembly Standing Committee on Defence Sardar Fateh Ullah Khan.
In his address, Abdul Qayyum highlighted what he described as four major international nuclear flashpoints: the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Middle East situation, including Israeli aggression, the Kashmir-Indo-Pak conflict and the South China Sea confrontation between China and the United States.
He observed that while the United Nations had been able to help resolve complex international crises such as the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 and the Suez confrontation between Israel and Egypt in 1956, as well as dozens of other disputes, it had failed to resolve the longstanding Kashmir issue.
The PESS president said a comprehensive review of Pakistan’s Kashmir policy was necessary and proposed a number of “cardinal points” for recalibration. He reiterated that Kashmir was an issue pertaining to the UN-approved right to self-determination and said that human rights violations were taking place under the cover of draconian laws with impunity.
He called for the establishment of dedicated Kashmir desks in important international capitals and emphasized the need for a unified national approach on the issue.
Abdul Qayyum further stressed the extensive use of national and international media to highlight what he termed Indian terrorist activities in different countries and recommended seeking its inclusion in the ambit of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
He also proposed sending parliamentary delegations to all member states of the UN General Assembly across all continents, including Africa and South America, to effectively present Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir.
He urged the President and Prime Minister to develop and cultivate personal relations with heads of states and governments of important countries, including those holding veto powers, to garner support for Pakistan’s position on the issue.
Among other points, he said India must allow the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to resume and perform its duties in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir to monitor violations.
He maintained that the freedom movement in Kashmir should not be termed terrorism and said that attempts to alter the demographic pattern in the region by granting property rights to non-Kashmiris were in violation of UN Charter provisions and relevant resolutions.
Concluding his address, PESS president Qayyum emphasized that Pakistan’s internal political unity and economic strength must serve as the bedrock of a successful and effective Kashmir policy.
