Pakistan’s top envoy and permanent representative to the United Nations Dr. Maleeha Lodhi again raised the Kashmir issue during a UN Security Council debate on the current volatile situation in the Middle East urging the highest body to play its much anticipated role in resolving the age-old conflicts that have been bone of contention and a major cause of instability and unrest in the two regions.
Taking part in the debate Dr. Lodhi while reiterating Pakistan’s principled stance regarding Palestine and Kashmir said, “Pakistan will continue to support the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians, as indeed, people living under foreign occupation elsewhere as for example in Kashmir”. “This esteemed body must live up to its responsibilities and ensure the implementation of its own resolutions on Palestine and other longstanding disputes such as Kashmir so that people of the world do not lose entire faith in the United Nations,” she said.
It may be recalled here that relations between India and Pakistan have further strained recently following a series cross LoC shelling by Indian troops across the line of control. The escalating tensions and incidents of cross-Loc firing in different sectors across the line of control and working boundary have resulted in the loss precious human lives and serious injuries to persons as well as damage to property. Indian Border Security Forces (BSF) are said to have committed 170 ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC) and Working Boundary (WB) in the first 24 days of 2018. Apprising Senate about the prevailing situation in the region Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif revealed that at least 11 civilians lost their lives, whereas 48 others were injured in the recent spurt of LoC violations.
The loss of precious lives and ruthless killing of innocent & unarmed civilians across the LoC or working boundary is not just a matter of a week, a month, or a year rather this gory death-dance has been going on there for last several decades. Besides civilian casualties a sizable number of Indian and Pakistani soldiers as well as top rank officers deployed on frontline have fell prey to others in cross LoC or cross border firings over the past several decades.
Since 1947, many things have changed, so many generations have passed but the only thing that persists unaltered through the time is this endless cycle of violence of which Kashmiris are the worst victims. And this vicious cycle of violence on both sides of the dividing line will continue to wreak havoc on people’s lives unless the deadly dispute (Kashmir), which happens to be mother of all odds in the region, is resolved peacefully in accordance with the UN resolutions. Dr. Lodhi had rightly pointed out that if the Security Council failed in implementing its own resolutions on Palestine and Kashmir, people across the world can lose faith in the international body.
