India asks UN team on Kashmir to leave Delhi
New Delhi considers Kashmir as an integral part of the country and has bristled against external involvement in the region including the UN Military Observers Group on India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP).
The Indian foreign ministry said on Tuesday the government had asked UNMOGIP to hand over the Delhi premises from where it was running a liaison office for more than four decades for free.
“We have said that as far as we are concerned the UNMOGIP has outlived its relevance,” Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said.
UNMOGIP said it had received the request in May when India was in the midst of an election.
No reasons were given for vacating the office, Major Nicholas Diaz, in charge of the Delhi office said. He said the observers group would continue to operate in line with the UN mandate and that it was looking at alternative accommodation.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 9th, 2014.
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We need more international observers in Kashmir, not New Deheli to monitor human rights abuses of Indian extremists and Indian soldiers against Kashmiri civilians only on the basis of their religion. Pakistani and Muslim nations observers should be allowed into Indian Kashmir to monitor the situation.
You cannot hide the truth of injustice forever.
Is this the same UN whose first order to Pakistan & its Jihadis was to vacate Kashmir but Pakistan never obeyed? The UN is useless, kick them out of the country.
Good job Modi....
Good on you India, title is way misleading anyway. India can seriously make positive and constructive change on Kashmir. UN is becoming quite redundant now. Besides UN should not have that space for free. You tribune journalists very clever, title is misleading, if you did not write it that way, would have ignored it. Good job then.
@Pity: Democracy means the will of the people takes precedence. It does not mean no war or relinquishing legitimate claims. The will of Indians over both parts of Kashmir is crystal clear and we are prepared to deal with the issue even for the next 1000 years. Until this issue is solved according to our demands, we will keep at it. We have a 4000 year history there.
@Rex Minor: That "Chaiwala" is 100 times better than all the politicians produced by Pakistan to date. Could you please give me one such example from Pakistan where a person from such humble beginning made to the top post of the nation? And seems like you are using the term "chaiwala" in some derogatory manner. Are you from those elitists clans for whom dignity of labor is an unknown concept? Any way, India and Indians are happy to be administered by this "Chaiwala" than some idiot from a dynastic family. Also we wish you to have more leaders like you have right now. May be you guys do deserve the kind of leaders you have.
@Indian: only smart in this world is indian.
@Kash.mir: Numbered like what 2 million days??
@antanu: Its Indian budget, so what's your problem?
Ask them to pay the arrears of the past 40 yrs.
@rahul:
Read carefully....this request was made by Government of India when it was in the midst of election process. Obviously the decision was taken by congress government and not MODI.Dont try to credit of all the GGOD which has been done by congress...but then MDI GOVT. has nothing to offer good to the public so it is having FREE LUNCHES already paid by Congress government. Take the example of Railway budget...most useless budget in the nation's history.....
@Bewildered: Their lands? Since when?
@bewildered Your screen name says it all. You will remain bewildered, reality must be difficult for you...
@Kash.mir there is no tax on dreaming..
they didnt ask UN to leave Delhi, they just told them to pay for their own office! What a misleading headline!
People of any should be given the right to choose their own fates...and Indian FO should have used their right to demand rent 40 years back rather then crying for it after 40 years...we all know there is no free lunch in the world so there must be some favors returned to the state that was offering it...both countries people and state need to learn one lesson to accept each other co existence and we cant progress unless we accept this. Pakistan is an Islamic country but still have minorities here enjoying full right and even got reserved seat in Govt. jobs and Parliament...whereas India claimed to be largest democracy but fails to uphold the basic human rights and still funding militancy in neabouring countries through its spy agency which has been proven for Bangladesh, Sirilinka and now Afghanistan and Pakistan
Muslims were not the original inhabitants of Kashmir. The Turkic invaders forcibly converted the citizens after conquering the lands. India could not match them militarily. Now we can. Kashmir has been a part of India for over 4000 years and we will take what is rightfully ours. Every Indian stands firm on this.
How about Pakistan High Commission in Delhi sparing part of their building for UN mission on Kashmir ? If not, poor UN will have to pay from its own budget to remain in Delhi. Smart move by India.
Relax everyone - the landlord is only asking tenants to start paying rents!
@Bewildered: Relax mate, why are you getting so hot under the collar - India is only asking this UN office to start paying rents !! Their free stay for 40 years is over. Heaven knows how many Congress children got plum UN postings in New York in return for free stay in Delhi under tax-payer's cost!!!
By the way what the UN observers are doing in India? whats their objective to be in india and what have they achieved so far in 4 decades? Dont they know that UN resolution on Kashmir is not binding on any party? Could UN force Pakistan to withdraw its army from Pak occupied J&K to facilitate plebiscite? They are only wasting the money that member countries contribute to UN kitty.
India has lost the hearts and minds of Kashmiris though occupying the land through brute force. Their days in the valley is numbered.
@Bewildered: I like this line of yours, 'India is the world biggest hypocrisy'. And they have proved it time and again.
Shame on you ET for deliberately misleading headline.
Shame on Pakistanis who commented without reading the content.
Wrong Reporting!
India has informed UN that it will no longer provide facilities for "free" in Delhi (In Srinagar, facilities are still provided for free). India wants UN to find its own facility in Delhi.
This is keeping inline with international standards. India govt has no mandate to fund UN activities in this goodwill way. India is just stopping the freebies(accommodation, army rations, fuel etc) given to this UNMOGIP, which is anyway irrelevant.
UNMOGIP can continue to stay in India and operate as long as they want.
While on the subject can the Investigative Team at ET dig and find out what free facilities Pakistan offers to the UN Observers Team? ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ A balamved picture is always welcome.
India has to implement UN Resolutions on Kashmir.
India is ocupying Kashmir illegally, has committed gross human rights violations, has sponsored terror in Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh - it is a rouge state witth no respect for international law or human rights
and Nawaz Sharif will support India on this also
Good Move Modi Govt!! High time we stop entertaining these people.We gave pakistan its country and they are still not satisfied.They are houses are burning ,but they talk about kashmir.Basically speaking they have nothing to do or achieve, we have a lot to achieve.So we should ignore them!!
Now UNMOGIP will setup their camp in POK to understand the situation there.
India lost Kashmir. Its defeat was not military. India lost Pakistan, but still behaves as though it had exclusive rights on it and its people. That's maybe why it wants observers out.
India lost Kashmir. Its defeat was not military. India lost Pakistan, but still behaves as though it had exclusive rights on it and its people. That's why they do not want any kind of observers.
@Pity: pakis already showed its true color, now most failed state in this world.
@Pity: what it got to do with democracy?
@Pity: Now that Nawaz Sharif has entered into understanding with the chaiwala, allowing Pakistan military to operate in its own country, there is no need for the UNO staff to stay in India.
Rex Minor
No free lunch any more! that was a temporary arrangement. They continued for more than 40 years! Time to move.
Why doesn't these buffoons go to pakistan and peddle their agenda. These UN people naive and idiotic.
It is immaterial what New Delhi thinks about Kashmir. What really matters is what Kashmiris think about themselves and their lands. Indians may consider Nepal, or Bhutan, or Antarctica, or even USA and Canada their integral part, but that wouldn't make it so. Would that? India in fact is the world;s biggest hypocrisy which has lost all civility and does not care about democratic norms or basic human rights.
wow, intentionally misleading headline....the articles says they were asked to vacat a free Delhi government bungalow...not leave Delhi and that they are looking for alternative accommodation in Delhi.....and will continue to operate...wow, ET...you're great
Misleading title. India has not asked them to leave delhi but to leave the bungalow they were using free of cost for last 4 decades. By the way Syed Akbaruddin is right that UN has lost its relevance on Kashmir and has no locus standi.
India showing its true colors, so much for upholding democracy.