JAKARTA: India has strongly protested the “unwarranted interference” in the internal affairs of India and the reference to the Jammu and Kashmir issue by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and declared that Kashmir is and shall forever remain, an integral part of India.”
Indias strong objection was voiced at the end of the first day of the 10th summit of the Non Aligned Movement on Sept.1, after Sharif, during his presentation at the plenary session, made a new attempt to internationalize the issue by suggesting that the U N Secretary-General resolve it.
Indian delegate, T. Prabhakar Menon, Joint Secretary (UN) in the External Affairs Ministry, took the floor to express “considerable at the “unfortunate” references made by Sharif to a purely internal matter of India or, what was at most a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan.
Menon said if there were any issues related to this matter which Pakistan wished to discuss with India, the framework for it was provided in the Shimla agreement an agreement based on thoughtful and thorough deliberations between the Prime Ministers of the two counties, an agreement to which the Pakistan Government had given commitments in solemn obligation. — Pakistan’s attempt to raise this extraneous issue at the nonaligned forum was “all the more regrettable” in view of the pressing appeal from the chairman of the movement and host country of the summit meeting, at the ministerial meeting on August 29 that all members should adhere to the original terms of reference and traditions of NAM meetings and should refrain from referring to bilateral issues.
He added “it is our abiding perception and conviction that issues related to Kashmir can never be resolved by raising them in interresolved by raising them in international for a.”
Departing from his prepared text of the speech at the plenary session, Sharif said the Secretary-General had been demonstrating outstanding ability in resolving regional disputes and conflicts, he should take interest in helping solve the Kashmir issue too.
The Pakistan Prime Minister had formally proposed in a formal letter to Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao last month that the two countries should discuss the Kashmir issue under Article 6 of the Shimla agreement which bound the two sides to hold negotiations for a final settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir issue.
In his prepared speech, Sharif set aside Indonesia’s advice not to raise bilateral matters at the nonaligned forum and described the Kashmir issue as “explosive.”
He called upon Rao to work with him in seeking an equitable solution to the Kashmir issue as mandated by the relevant resolutions of the U N Security Council and in the spirit of the Shimla agreement.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 11, 1992
