ISLAMABAD: Pakistan late Tuesday accused India of perpetrating, “repressive” measures to deprive Kashmiris of their basic right to self-determination and said it will never accept any pressure on the issue,
Making a policy statement on the disturbances in Jammu and Kashmir over state run radio and television, foreign minister Shahabzada Yaqub Khan declared Pakistan could not forsake its “principled” stand on the northern Indian border state Kashmir and would not bow to threats from any quarter in this context.
New Delhi has accused Pakistan of blatantly interfering in its internal affairs and aiding militants in the Kashmir valley.
Observers here described the foreign minister’s statement as being in keeping with the new hard posture adopted by Islamabad that would not help in the attempts to normalize relations with India.
Yaqub Khan’s statement, they pointed out, was the first of its kind since in the past only finance ministers had addressed the nation over the official media to announce federal budgets. All other major announcements have been made either by the President or the prime minister.
In what observers said were highly provocative remarks, Yaqub Khan said the Indian government had tried to suppress the disturbances in Jammu and Kashmir through “atrocities.”
He said resort to these “repressive measures” had resulted in an increase to the intensity and spirit of the Kashmiris to continue their struggle for plebiscite.
The foreign minister said that the situation had reached such a stage that chief minister Farooq Abdullah was “forced” to resign and governor’s rule imposed.
The foreign minister claimed that the recent developments in Jammu and Kashmir had aroused a wave of “deep resentment” and “anguish” all over Pakistan.
He said the Indian government in a bid to hide the actual reasons for the situation in Kashmir was leveling “baseless” allegations of Pakistani involvement in the violence in the valley.
An impression was being given by India that J and K was its integral part and that Pakistan was interfering in its internal affairs. ‘The Indian newspapers, radio and television have unleashed the same propaganda, he said.
The Indian attitude in this behalf and accusations against Pakistan, he said, were in conflict with the “obtaining realities”. This peculiar situation warranted that Pakistan once again elaborate its clear cut policy on the issue, he said.
The foreign minister said during his recent visit to India and at meetings with leaders there, he had made it clear that Jammu and Kashmir was a “dispute” area and the problem could be resolved only by holding a plebiscite under the supervision of the United Nations.
He said he had told the Indian leaders that the disturbances in Kashmir portrayed the natural urge of the people there and it had erupted out of “domestic” circumstances.
Khan said he hoped that the Kashmir issue would be amicably resolved through negotiations and said Pakistan would concentrate on this direction in the best interest of peace in the region.
He maintained that it was imperative for all the neighboring countries to ensure peace and tranquility so that “our respective nations could continue marching towards socio-economic uplift and all round development.”
The foreign minister said on diplomatic levels, Pakistan had informed its embassies about the deteriorating situation in Jammu and Kashmir. He said they had been directed to appraise the respective host countries of “the correct Perspective and facts of the issue.”
He said they had been asked to categorically refute the “baseless allegations” being leveled by India,
Ambassadors stationed in Islamabad have also been informed of the latest situation in J and K, he said,
The foreign minister said by leveling “wild accusations against Pakistan, the facts could neither be changed nor a befitting solution found to the Kashmir problem.”
The only solution to the issue was to accept the Kashmiris basic Tight to self-determination and to grant them an opportunity to determine their own fate.
He said the Pakistanis and Kashmiris had deep spiritual and cultural affinities. For these reasons, it was impossible for Pakistan not to raise its voice against the “repression” being perpetrated against the Kashmiris, he added.
The foreign minister said the need of the hour was that bilateral negotiations continue so that no wrong decisions were taken merely on the basis of “misconception” or “apprehensions,”
He said he had assured the Indian prime minister and foreign minister that Pakistan was committed to the 1971 Shimla agreement that laid down that all disputes should be resolved bilate.
Article extracted from this publication >> February 9, 1990
