ISLAMABAD: President of the Pakistan Ex-Servicemen Society (PESS) Senator Lt Gen (retd) Abdul Qayyum has said the country’s Kashmir policy needs a reset noting that internal political unity and economic strength must serve as the bedrock of a successful and effective policy.
“We need to be proactive rather than reactive,” he said while speaking at a seminar on Kashmir problem, which was attended, among others, by Chairman Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir Rana Muhammad Qasim Noon, Senator Dr Zarqa Taimor and Chairman National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Defence Sardar Fateh Ullah Khan.
Lt Gen (retd) Qayyum pointed out four major international nuclear flashpoints — Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Middle East situation including Israeli aggression, the Kashmir-Indo-Pak conflict and the South China Sea confrontation between China and the United States.
While the United Nations has been able to help resolve complex international crises such as the Cuban missile crisis of 1962 and the Suez confrontation between Israel and Egypt in 1956, as well as dozens of other disputes, it had failed to resolve the longstanding Kashmir issue, he added.
He strongly advocated a comprehensive review of Pakistan’s Kashmir policy and proposed a number of “cardinal points” for recalibration to taking the issue to its logical conclusion. “Kashmir is an issue pertaining to the UN-approved right of self-determination, whereas blatant human rights violations are taking place under the cover of draconian laws with impunity,” he said and called for the establishment of dedicated Kashmir desks in important international capitals emphasising the need for a unified national approach on the issue. The PESS president underlined the need for extensive use of national and international media to highlight what he termed Indian terrorist activities in different countries and recommended seeking its inclusion in the ambit of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
He also proposed sending parliamentary delegations to all member states of the UN General Assembly across all continents, including Africa and South America, to effectively present Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir.
He urged the President and the Prime Minister to develop and cultivate personal relations with heads of states and governments of important countries, including those holding veto powers, to garner support for Pakistan’s position on the issue. Lt Gen (retd) Qayyum emphasised that New Delhi must allow the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to resume and perform its duties in Indian-occupied Kashmir to monitor the long-continuing violations.
He maintained that the on-going independence movement in Kashmir should not be termed terrorism, adding that attempts to alter the demographic pattern in the region by granting property rights to non-Kashmiris were in violation of UN Charter provisions and relevant resolutions.
