‘Kashmir dispute can spark an Indo-Pak crisis’

Pakistani envoy stresses geographical sensitivity of disputed territory

WASHINGTON:

While the international community faces crises like the Russia-Ukraine war, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Masood Khan has warned that high tensions between India and Pakistan over the Jammu and Kashmir dispute could spark another crisis.

In an interview with Newsweek, which coincided with the third anniversary of India’s revocation of Articles 370 and 35A that repealed the special status of the Indian-occupied part of the disputed Kashmir region, he said that while New Delhi’s move continued to stir frictions between two nuclear-armed nations, there has been a “dangerous indifference” to the issue on the part of the international community.

“Because of several developments in the international realm, for instance, Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific region, the United States or other permanent members of the UN Security Council have not been able to devote much attention to Kashmir,” Ambassador Khan was quoted as saying. “So, there is this continuing spell of inattention, which makes Kashmir a blind spot for the international community,” he said.

“This is perilous because, after all, Kashmir is located in a very sensitive region, and in this neighborhood, there are three nuclear powers, Pakistan, India and China.” Newsweek correspondent Tim O’Connor, who interviewed the Pakistani envoy, wrote, “The fate of

Kashmir and its mostly Muslim population led by a Hindu ruler, sparked the first large-scale conflict between India and Pakistan, who would go on to fight three more wars and continued to clash in recent years, with an uneasy, rare ceasefire reached only in February of last year.”

The report also includes Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying’s comments made on the third anniversary of India’s annexation of Jammu and Kashmir, saying, “China’s position is clear and consistent.”

“The Kashmir issue is an issue left over from history between India and Pakistan,” Hua said.
“This is also the shared view of the international community. We stated back then that parties concerned need to exercise restraint and prudence. In particular, the parties should avoid taking actions that unilaterally change the status quo or escalate tensions,” she said.

“We call on both India and Pakistan to peacefully resolve the dispute through dialogue and consultation,” she added. Friday’s anniversary drew some international attention elsewhere as well, the report pointed out. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) issued a statement condemning India’s “illegal and unilateral actions taken in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, which were followed by additional unlawful measures including illegal demographic changes”.

“Such illegal actions can neither alter the disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir nor prejudice the legitimate right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people,” it added.