ID :
28518
Wed, 11/05/2008 - 09:23
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/28518
The shortlink copeid
India, Pak clash on Kashmir in key U.N. panel
Dharam Shourie
United Nations, Nov 4 (PTI) India and Pakistan clashed in a key United Nations committee with New Delhi firmly telling Islamabad that its advocacy for "self-determination" for people of Jammu and Kashmir is "unacceptable" and constitutes "clear interference" in the country's internal affairs.
The people of the state, India emphasised, have already
exercised the right by participating repeatedly in free and
fair elections and raking up of the issue by Pakistan was
"unwarranted".
"The right to self-determination cannot become an
instrument to promote subversion and erode political cohesion
or territorial integrity" of a state, India's delegate Rajeev
Shukla told the U.N. General Assembly's Social, Humanitarian
and Cultural Committee Monday.
Exercising the right of reply, he also rejected
Pakistan's U.N. Ambassador Hussain Haroon's allegations of
"suppression" of the people of state, saying Islamabad would
have been better served by avoiding making comments about an
integral part of India.
Pointing out that people of Kashmir have repeatedly
participated in free and fair elections, he told Pakistan that
in contrast, Islamabad denied even semblance of such rights to
the people in the part of Kashmir occupied by it.
Clashes over Kashmir were once a regular feature of
debates in the United Nations but had almost ceased during the
later part of former President Pervez Musharraf's regime.
Participating in the debate on 'self-determination',
Haroon alleged that "in the recent spate of violence, forced
on the Kashmiris following a cruel economic blockade, the
Indian occupation forces have brutally killed innocent
protesters and the Kashmiri political leadership was put
behind bars to silence their protest."
Describing the allegations as "factually incorrect,"
Shukla said they bear no relationship to reality.
It would suffice to point out that the people of Jammu
and Kashmir exercised their right to "self-determination" at
the time of India's independence and have since then
repeatedly participated in free, fair and open elections at
all levels, he added.
"I may add that by introducing its unwarranted reference
in our discussions the delegate of Pakistan is also harming
the cause of the inalienable right of the Palestinian people
to self-determination," he pointed out and told Islamabad that
it will never succeed in its efforts.
In his right of reply, Haroon claimed that Jammu and
Kashmir is an "internationally recognised disputed territory"
according to several U.N. Resolutions. "The Security Council
demand for free and fair plebiscite under U.N. auspices still
remains to be implemented."
He claimed that elections in Jammu and Kashmir have been
"rejected not only by the U.N. Security Council but also by
the people of Kashmir." PTI DS
AM
United Nations, Nov 4 (PTI) India and Pakistan clashed in a key United Nations committee with New Delhi firmly telling Islamabad that its advocacy for "self-determination" for people of Jammu and Kashmir is "unacceptable" and constitutes "clear interference" in the country's internal affairs.
The people of the state, India emphasised, have already
exercised the right by participating repeatedly in free and
fair elections and raking up of the issue by Pakistan was
"unwarranted".
"The right to self-determination cannot become an
instrument to promote subversion and erode political cohesion
or territorial integrity" of a state, India's delegate Rajeev
Shukla told the U.N. General Assembly's Social, Humanitarian
and Cultural Committee Monday.
Exercising the right of reply, he also rejected
Pakistan's U.N. Ambassador Hussain Haroon's allegations of
"suppression" of the people of state, saying Islamabad would
have been better served by avoiding making comments about an
integral part of India.
Pointing out that people of Kashmir have repeatedly
participated in free and fair elections, he told Pakistan that
in contrast, Islamabad denied even semblance of such rights to
the people in the part of Kashmir occupied by it.
Clashes over Kashmir were once a regular feature of
debates in the United Nations but had almost ceased during the
later part of former President Pervez Musharraf's regime.
Participating in the debate on 'self-determination',
Haroon alleged that "in the recent spate of violence, forced
on the Kashmiris following a cruel economic blockade, the
Indian occupation forces have brutally killed innocent
protesters and the Kashmiri political leadership was put
behind bars to silence their protest."
Describing the allegations as "factually incorrect,"
Shukla said they bear no relationship to reality.
It would suffice to point out that the people of Jammu
and Kashmir exercised their right to "self-determination" at
the time of India's independence and have since then
repeatedly participated in free, fair and open elections at
all levels, he added.
"I may add that by introducing its unwarranted reference
in our discussions the delegate of Pakistan is also harming
the cause of the inalienable right of the Palestinian people
to self-determination," he pointed out and told Islamabad that
it will never succeed in its efforts.
In his right of reply, Haroon claimed that Jammu and
Kashmir is an "internationally recognised disputed territory"
according to several U.N. Resolutions. "The Security Council
demand for free and fair plebiscite under U.N. auspices still
remains to be implemented."
He claimed that elections in Jammu and Kashmir have been
"rejected not only by the U.N. Security Council but also by
the people of Kashmir." PTI DS
AM
