LONDON: The British Foreign Office has denied a claim by shadow Foreign Secretary Gerald Kaufman that Prime Minister John Major has extended support to the idea of a plebiscite in Kashmir.
“We are not aware of any such statement by the Prime Minister” a Forcing Office spokesman said.
“Our position remains the same as before” he added.
However Kaufman who belongs to the Opposition Labour Party told a Press conference here on Wednesday that Major “gave a written answer to the House of Commons last month in which he said the (British) government supported a plebiscite”
Major’s reply caused some surprise in Delhi” he added.
But the Foreign Office spokesman said Major’s last statement to the House was made on March 25 this year when he reiterated the British position when asked to urge the UN to implement its resolutions on Kashmir.
“The government considers that any proposal to resolve the continuing dispute over the status of Kashmir needs to take account of subsequent developments and to be mutually agreed between the governments of India and Pakistan” he added.
Kaufman made the claim when asked to comment on charges that his statements on Kashmir made the Labor Party out to be anti-Indian in its posture.
Kaufman said the report in the Pakistani newspaper Jang contained several statements he had not made.
Kaufman said he supported both bilateral and UN-sponsored efforts to resolve the issue adding that he saw no contradiction.
“When Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was reported as saying that he wanted to solve the problem by negotiations I applauded him for saying that Benazir Bhutto said that she would like to see the problem solved under the United Nations and spices and I applauded her for saying that.
“I have also discussed with the Indian Prime Minister the possibility of some assistance by the Common wealth not arbitration mediation meddling or interference but whether the Commonwealth could assist in any negotiations that take place. There are matters that a Labour government would explore Kaufman said.
He however added It is impossible to force a solution on India”
Kaufman said Rao had told him that the proposal for Commonwealth assistance “might be a possibility”.
He wasn’t more positive that that but he did say that it might be a possibility. The Pakistanis have responded very firmly that they believe Commonwealth assistance might help.
The Labour Party leader said he was “far better informed” of both Indian and Pakistani points of view after his recent visit but added that an agreement between India and Pakistan “cannot be made over the heads of the Kashmiris”
Article extracted from this publication >> September 6, 1991
