Kashmir issue to be resolved through dialogue for regional peace: China

Parties should avoid taking unilateral actions to change the status quo or to escalate tensions, says Hua Chunying

BEIJING:

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday that China’s position on the Kashmir issue was clear and consistent and called for the resolution of the longstanding dispute peacefully through dialogue and consultations for regional peace and stability.

On the issue of Kashmir, China’s position is clear and consistent. This is an issue leftover from history between India and Pakistan and this is also a shared view of the international community, Hua Chunying said during his regular briefing in response to a question asked by APP.

Today is the third anniversary of India’s unilateral actions in Occupied Kashmir, violating the United Nations (UN) resolutions on the disputed territory.

The spokesperson said that three years ago, the Chinese side already stated that there should be restraint and prudence for relevant parties.

Especially, the parties should avoid taking unilateral actions to change the status quo or to escalate tensions, she added.

Read more: Youm-e-Istehsal Kashmir: PM condemns illegal Indian military siege of IIOJK

"We call on both parties to resolve the dispute through dialogue and consultation peacefully for the region to remain peaceful and stable," she said.

On August 5, 2019, the Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government struck down Articles 370 and 35-A of the Indian constitution, thereby scrapping the law that granted Kashmir its special status.

Meanwhile, in a recent statement, Cheng Xizhong, Visiting Professor at Southwest University of Political Science and Law said that the Kashmir issue was the core obstacle to the normalisation of relations between India and Pakistan and to peace and stability in the South Asian sub-continent.

He said that India changed the status of IIOJK on August 5, 2019, which further complicated the Kashmir issue. Therefore, he added, the key to normalising India-Pakistan relations was for India to take the initiative to immediately restore the original status of Kashmir.

Prof Cheng, who is also a senior fellow of the Charhar Institute, opined that the international community should take strong and concerted actions, forcing India to immediately halt and reverse unilateral and all illegal actions it has taken in IIOJK and fulfil its obligations under the relevant UNSC resolutions.

He suggested that first, the UNSC should pay more attention to India’s unilateral and illegal actions in IIOJK, which were seriously endangering regional peace; second, because India has seriously violated the fundamental human rights of the Kashmiri people, all international human rights organisations should continue to put pressure on India; third, all countries responsible for world peace, especially big powers, should impose the most severe sanctions on India, forcing the Narendra Modi regime to rectify its evil ways with strong measures.

"The Kashmiris have the full right to decide their own destiny. The Kashmiris should have the final say on the Kashmir issue."

"I firmly believe that the Kashmiri people who have been fighting for national self-determination for decades will win the final victory," he concluded.