Islamabad: (Parliament Times) The former convener of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (Pak chapter) and vice president Democratic Freedom Party Mehmood Ahmed Saghar while stressing the need for implementation of the relevant UN resolutions on Kashmir has said that the UN’s decolonization agenda would remain incomplete unless a referendum is held in Kashmir as per the UNSC resolutions and universally accepted principle of right to self-determination.
“Right to self determination is cardinal principle of modern international law, incorporated into the UN charter”, Saghar said in a statement issued here on Wednesday. He stated that the governments of India and Pakistan have accepted the provisions of the UNCIP resolutions of 13 August 1948 and 5 January 1949 respectively and re-affirmed their commitment that the future of the State of Jammu and Kashmir shall be decided through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite conducted under the auspices of the United Nations.
Saghar said that it was quite unfortunate that despite the passage of 70 years people of Kashmir were still awaiting for that day whereupon they could be able to decide their political future in an atmosphere free from coercion and intimidation.
Terming India’s perpetual denial as a major hurdle in the way of peaceful settlement of dispute the DFP leader said, “It is all about the implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions, which the successive Indian governments have refused to implement”. “Had Indian rulers shown an iota of courage to implement the UN proposed roadmap in letter and spirit there would have been no conflict in the region”, he said adding that India not only backtracked from its commitments but also violated the international law. India’s denial to fulfill its pledges of conceding right of self determination to Kashmiris he said had actually pushed the region into a quagmire of uncertainty.
Seeking UN secretary general’s attention towards the unresolved Kashmir dispute he M A Saghar said that being custodian of the highest body Antonio Gutteirs should use its good offices to persuade government of India to resolve Kashmir issue peacefully in accordance with the UN resolutions.
