ISLAMABAD: India, by revoking the seven decades old special status of the Held Kashmir, has trampled with a stroke of the pen the UN resolutions, the Lahore Declaration, the Simla Agreement and umpteen undertakings and understandings reached withPakistan during bilateral dialogues.
In all these accords, New Delhi, in varying words, recognised Kashmir as the unresolved, outstanding “issue” or “dispute”. India always stressed that it would go for bilateral negotiations with Pakistan and discounted international intervention to the effect.
The extreme Indian decision came just 13 days after President Donald Trump, in a meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan at the White House, offered mediation to resolve the Kashmir dispute.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led government scrapped Article 370 that gave special status to the Held Kashmir as promised by it in its manifesto and divided the territory into two regions to be directly ruled by New Delhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s action raises the pertinent questions: who will make India to abide by the international and bilateral agreements on Kashmir, and what course is left for Pakistan to pursue? What kind of relevance of international and bilateral agreements, joint communiques and understanding is left after annexation of the occupied Kashmir by India?
Immediately after assuming office and shortly after winning the 2018 general elections, Prime Minister Imran Khan offered India dialogue more than once and said if New Delhi takes one step, Pakistan would take two steps. It will be instructive to have a look at the precise provisions of various resolutions, declarations and joint statements, relating to the Kashmir dispute, issued on the conclusions of Pak-India talks in different years.
Signed by Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Feb 21, 1999, the Lahore Agreement, which was rocked by the subsequent Kargil adventure of General Pervez Musharraf, said it “recalls their agreement of 23 September 1998, that an environment of peace and security is in the supreme national interest of both sides and that the resolution of all outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, is essential for this purpose.” It said the two prime ministers agreed that “their respective governments shall intensify their efforts to resolve all issues, including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir.”
The declaration was considered a foundation for the then ongoing composite dialogue process of talks between the two sides. The renewed dialogue aimed at utilising multiple diplomatic channels and levels and stabilising relations over a range of issues, including water, cross-border trade, as well as the Jammu and Kashmir region.
The UN Security Council resolutions called for helping the governments of India and Pakistan restore peace and order to the region and prepare for a plebiscite to decide the fate of Kashmir. They also called for the establishment of a ceasefire line in the state of Jammu & Kashmir and stated the agreed position of the governments of India and Pakistan that the question of the accession of the State of Jammu and Kashmir to India or Pakistan will be decided through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite.
The Simla Agreement signed by President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on July 2, 1997, after the breakup of Pakistan, provided that pending the final settlement of any of the problems between the two countries, neither side shall unilaterally alter the situation and both shall prevent the organisation, assistance or encouragement of any acts detrimental to the maintenance of peaceful and harmonious relations; that the two countries are resolved to settle their differences by peaceful means through bilateral negotiations or by any other peaceful means mutually agreed upon between them; that the basic issues and causes of conflict which have bedeviled the relations between the two countries for the last 25 years shall be resolved by peaceful means; and that in Jammu and Kashmir, the line of control resulting from the cease-fire of December 17, 1971, shall be respected by both sides without prejudice to the recognised position of either side.
The accord also said both governments agree that their respective heads will meet again at a mutually convenient time in the future and that, in the meanwhile, the representatives of the two sides will meet to discuss further the modalities and arrangements for the establishment of durable peace and normalisation of relations, including the questions of repatriation of prisoners of war and civilian internees, a final settlement of Jammu and Kashmir and the resumption of diplomatic relations.
Besides, several rounds of talks were held between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and successive Indian premiers, most of them on the sidelines of the summits of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) in different member countries during the nineties. Also, many rounds of bilateral negotiations were held at various levels, including the foreign ministers and foreign secretaries.
In October 2005, the two sides reiterated that possible options for a peaceful, negotiated settlement of the issue of Jammu and Kashmir should be explored in a sincere, purposeful, and forward-looking manner, resolving to not let terrorism impede the peace process.
In a joint statement, the two secretaries, in June 1997, agreed to: address all outstanding issues of concern to both sides, including, inter alia: Jammu and Kashmir; peace and security, including confidence building measures (CBMs), Siachen Glacier; Wullar Barrage Project/Tulbul Navigation Project; Sir Creek; terrorism and drug-trafficking; economic and commercial cooperation, and promotion of friendly exchanges in various fields; and set up a mechanism, including working groups at appropriate levels, to address all these issues in an integrated manner, with the issues of peace and security, Jammu and Kashmir to be dealt with at the level of foreign secretaries tasked with coordination and monitoring of the progress of work of all the working groups.
The Pakistan-India dialogue process is suspended since long as New Delhi has not responded to the peace overtures made by the present government. Same situation prevailed during General Pervez Musharraf’s rule.
