Kashmir dispute: Implementation of UN resolution is the only solution, says Zafarul Haq

Says proposals for solutions are aimed at diverting attention from UN resolutions.

ISLAMABAD:

A day after Indian assertions that Jammu and Kashmir was an integral part of India, the government on Tuesday dismissed any out-of-the-box solutions, insisting on implementation of longstanding United Nations resolutions.

“Implementation of the UN resolutions is the only solution and there is no need to file a fresh petition on the issue,” said Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chairman and Leader of the House in Senate Raja Zafarul Haq during a press conference.

Haq said proposals for out-of-the-box solutions were aimed at diverting attention from the UN resolutions which give the people of Kashmir the right of self-determination.



The statement came a day after the foreign office rejected India’s assertions stating that India, being a UN member, must not overlook UN Security Council resolutions on the issue.

The PML-N leader took exception to the Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khursheed’s statement, rejecting the international mediation on Kashmir dispute.

“Kashmir is not an integral part of India but an international dispute as per the resolutions of the UN,” he stated rejecting India’s conduct to make the disputed region a part of it through its constitution.

Haq recalled that India had taken up the issue with the UN and also agreed with the 23 resolutions that had been passed unanimously in the UN Security Council.

“These resolutions are still relevant and overrule all the arrangements India made to make Kashmir its part,” he said adding that the resolution of this dispute was imperative for peace and stability in the region.

Responding to question, he said that the Kashmir dispute – a central issue in bilateral ties – had been raised by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the UN General Assembly.

“The prime minister’s speech put all the reservations to rest about the policy of the government on Kashmir, when he advocated the implementation of UN resolutions,” the senator said opposing India’s stance of taking up the issue on bilateral basis.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 23^rd, 2013.