KASHMIR ISSUE

INTRODUCTION:

Disputed region, whose sovereignty contested by India and Pakistan. The partition of the Indian sub-continent along religious lines led to the formation of India and

Pakistan. It is also a known fact that the perceptions of India and Pakistan about what constitutes the dispute are totally different. Pakistan regards it as an unfinished agenda of the Partition of the sub-continent in 1947 and as an issue of granting the right of self-determination to the Kashmir’s, a principle also upheld by the UN Security Council resolutions. India, on the other hand, regards it as its territorial issue. It asserts that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and that Pakistan is occupying Indian Territory. The impasse has resulted with India occupying two thirds of the territory of Jammu and Kashmir, and Pakistan administering one-third, with an UN-recognized ceasefire line separating them.China had Shaksam Valley and Aksai Chin. The parties to the dispute are India, Pakistan, China and the people of Kashmir.India claims the entire former Dogra princely state of Jammu and Kashmir and presently administers approximately 43% of the region including most of Jammu, Kashmir Valley, Ladakh and the Siachen Glacier. India's claim is contested by Pakistan which controls approximately 37% of Kashmir, mainly Azad Kashmir and the northern areas of Gilgit and Baltistan. In addition, China controls 20% of Kashmir including Aksai Chin which it occupied following the brief Sino-Indian War of 1962 and the Trans-Karakoram Tract, also known as the Shaksam Valley, which was ceded to it by Pakistan in 1963.In this connection it may be noted that the Indian government adopted a dual policy on the Kashmir dispute. For example, following the landing of Indian troops in Jammu and Kashmir on August 26, 1947, at the declaratory level, the Indian government expressed its commitment to resolve the dispute according to the wishes of the Kashmir’s through a plebiscite, but in practice the Indian leaders, particularly, Prime Minister Nehru, were interested in incorporating the State of Jammu and Kashmir into the Indian Union. In the words of Pandit Nehru, “Kashmir, because of her geographical position, with her frontiers marching with three countries, namely, the Soviet Union, China and Afghanistan, is intimately connected with the security and international contacts of India”. Gandhi is reported to have said that Kashmir ‘had the greatest strategic value, perhaps, in all India.’ Sheikh Abdullah, while talking to reporters in New Delhi on October 21, 1947, said: ‘Due to the strategic position that the State (Kashmir) holds, if this State joins the Indian Dominion, Pakistan would be completely encircled. Also, when the partition of the sub-continent was accepted then Indian leaders, it was done with mental reservations, and the hope that Pakistan would not survive for long. Through Kashmir, India hoped to be in a better position to strangulate Pakistan by securing a strategic edge and by having control over the rivers flowing into Pakistan. India managed to obtain a land-link with Kashmir through the manipulated Radcliffe Award. While partitioning the Punjab, the Award divided the Muslim majority district of Gurdaspur in such a way that, besides Pathankot tehsil, even the Muslim majority tehsils of Gurdaspur and Batala to the south were awarded to India. India thus got access to Kashmir. There are strong indications that Mountbatten had earlier reached an understanding with the Congress in respect of Gurdaspur district.As observed by Lord Birdwood, in his book Two Nations and Kashmir,(1956),“It was Radcliffe’s Award to India of the Gurdaspur & Batala tehsils, with Muslim majorities, which rendered possible the maintenance of an Indian force at Jammu, based on Pathankot as railhead,which enabled India to consolidate her defenses southwards all the way from Uri to Pakistan border.This collusion came to light after the British Empire rolled back, leaving behind a festering dispute.

The Kashmir dispute dominates Indo-Pakistan relations, and has also become central for peace and stability in the South Asian region. Since 1998 it has been

described as a nuclear flashpoint. It is unfortunate that while in the beginning the international community supported the Security Council Resolutions, over the decades there has been a lessening of governmental interests in that commitment, of those very countries such as Australia, UK and US, which had earlier played an active leading role in the Security Council debates and resolutions with a view to solving the dispute. However, the nuclear tests by India and Pakistan in May 1998 renewed the interest of the world community in the unresolved Kashmir dispute in South Asia. Though the international concern is palpable over Kashmir becoming a potential nuclear flashpoint, the world community at the present juncture has yet to give more teeth to the Security Council resolutions that it has neglected for so many years. In December 19, 2001, when Musharaf was President, India announced its decision to deploy its troops to forward positions along the India-Pakistan international border.A dangerous trend that has surfaced in the post-September 11, 2001, international scenario is the unspecified nature of America’s ‘anti-terrorism’ campaign, in which there is a blurring of distinctions between terrorist activities and genuine struggles by oppressed people for self-determination. Taking advantage of the unspecified nature of the ‘anti-terrorism’ campaign, the BJP government in India has seized the opportunity to attempt to clinch the Kashmir dispute according to its own thinking, by recasting the indigenous Kashmir struggle as a terrorist one. After intensive diplomatic efforts by other countries, India and Pakistan began to withdraw troops from the international border June 10, 2002, and negotiations began again.On November 26, 2003, India and Pakistan have agreed to maintain a ceasefire along the undisputed International Border, the disputed Line of Control, and the Siachen glacier. This is the first such "total ceasefire" declared by both nuclear powers in nearly 15 years.State Elections were held in Indian held Jammu & Kashmir in seven phases starting November 17 and finishing on December 24, 2008. The National Conference party which regarded as pro India emerged with maximum seats and will form government in coalition with Indian National Congress and Omar Abdullah became C.M. Most of the separities boycott the election. Recently,On 3rd September, Islamabad also sought to revive the Kashmir issue that found no explicit mention in the Sharm el-Sheikh joint statement that came out of the July 16 meeting between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani.

Pakistan thinks that it will be solved according to wish of Kashmir’s and formula which is acceptable for all parties .As soon as this dispute is resolved prosperity will set in South Asia.

KASHMIR FROM 1947 TO 1957:

Sub-continent was partitioned on the agreed principle that contiguous Muslim majority areas were to be separated from the contiguous non-Muslim majority areas, to form the two independent states of Pakistan and India. There were about 562 Princely States, which existed under the overall paramountcy of the British Crown. The Cabinet Mission, in its statement of May 16, 1946, clarified that ‘Paramountcy could neither be retained by the British Crown nor transferred to the new Government. Also, in Section 7 of the Indian Independence Act, 1947, it was stated that ‘the suzerainty of His Majesty over the Indian States lapses.’ Thus, legally the Princely States became independent.However, the last British Viceroy Lord Mountbatten, during his address to the Chamber of Princes on July 25, 1947, asserted that ‘the rulers were technically at liberty to link with either of the dominion (India or Pakistan)’.As regards the criteria to be followed, he held that ‘normally geographical situation and communal interests and so forth will be the factors to be considered.On various occasions between June and July 1947, Quaid-e-Azam, the Governor General-designate of the new State of Pakistan, stated, ‘The legal position is that with the lapse of Paramountcy on the transfer of power by the British all Indian States would automatically regain their full sovereign and independent status. They are, therefore, free to join either of the two Dominions or to remain independent. The Muslim League recognises the right of each State to choose its destiny. It has no intention of coercing any State into adopting any particular course of action.By August 15, 1947, the majority of the Princely States, owing to their geographical contiguity and Hindu population, joined India while only ten joined Pakistan. However, disputes over independence arose with India in the case of three Princely States, namely Junagadh, Hyderabad and Jammu and Kashmir.

Junagadh, a maritime state in Kathiawar, with a Muslim ruler and a Hindu majority population, decided to accede to Pakistan on August 15, 1947. By middle of September 1947 Pakistan accepted the accession. India reacted by criticising Pakistan’s acceptance as ‘ in utter violation of the principles on which Pakistan was agreed upon and effected.On September 17, India deployed troops around Junagadh and by November 1947 India had militarily annexed the State, as its first expansionist act after the partition of 1947. It is to be noted that this happened when Pakistan had no defense structure of any sort. Pakistan’s complaint, claiming Junagadh as its territory, is still pending before the Security Council. Similarly, Hyderabad, also with a Muslim ruler and a majority Hindu population, despite Indian pressures, decided to remain independent and in fact executed a Standstill Agreement with India in November 1947, which India duly signed. However, India continued to increase pressure on Hyderabad and by the middle of 1948 had imposed an economic blockade as well as carried out border raids. During a parliamentary debate, on July 30, 1948, the then British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill referred to a speech by Pandit Nehru made in the last week of July, 1947, in which he had declared, ‘If and when we consider it necessary we will start military operations against Hyderabad.Commenting on this remark, Winston Churchill said ‘It seems to me that this is the sort of thing which might have been said by Hitler before the devouring of Austria.On August 24, 1948, Hyderabad filed a complaint before the Security Council, but before the case was heard before the Council, Hyderabad was militarily annexed by India on September 13, 1948.

While India laid claim on the other two Princely States on the basis of them being Hindu majority areas, as well as geographically contiguous to India, and that the

partition of the sub-continent was agreed to on these principles, it did not apply the same principle to the Jammu and Kashmir State, which had a Muslim majority population, under a Hindu ruler who was in favour of remaining independent. During the previous hundred years, the subjects of the Jammu and Kashmir State had been in a state of ongoing series of revolts against the Dogra rulers. When Partition took place, the Muslim majority population of Jammu and Kashmir was in favour of joining Pakistan, whereas the Hindu Maharaja was reluctant, hoping that he would retain his independence. July 19, 1947: The Muslim Conference, the majority party in the legislative assembly at the time, unanimously passes a resolution in favor of the accession of the state to Pakistan. Shortly thereafter, the "War Council" of the National Conference also meets; eight out of thirteen members vote in favor of accession to Pakistan.

Internally, there were already tensions due to repressive measures of the Maharaja

against the Muslims.The situation further deteriorated when, towards the end of July 1947,

the Maharaja ordered the Muslims to surrender their arms to the police, and communal

violence erupted. In the Jammu province, hundreds of Muslims were massacred by the

Hindus and Sikhs, who attacked Muslim villages. The massacre was one of the first

attempts of ethnic cleansing, which, in fact, had begun even before independence, with the

connivance of the local administration comprising units of the Maharaja’s Army and

Police. In August 1947, on the eve of Partition, Poonch revolted against the Maharaja’s rule

and in September 1947, the Muslim population liberated the area from the State

Police.According to some estimates, between August-October 1947, in the State of Jammu

and Kashmir out of the Muslim population of 500,000 about 200,000 just disappeared,

presumably were killed, and many Muslims from among the rest fled to the neighbouring

West Pakistan (now Pakistan).

In October 1947, there was a revolt by the Muslim population against the Maharaja. He

fled from the capital Srinagar to Jammu on October 26, 1947, and appealed to India for

help. India claims that the Maharaja signed the ‘Instrument of Accession’ on October 26,

following which the Indian forces landed in the State supposedly on October 27, 1947.

Regarding the signing of the Instrument of Accession, its timing, terms and conditions, and

the timing of the landing of Indian troops, are all controversial. The study of historical

events shows that initially the Maharaja sent the Deputy Prime Minister, R. L. Batra, to

New Delhi, on October 24, with a ‘letter of accession to India’ which could not be signed.

Mr. Batra, in New Delhi, held discussions with ‘who would listen to him; but his mission

was fruitless.According to British historian, Alastair Lamb, this was ‘certainly no blanket

unconditional Instrument of Accession but rather a statement of the terms upon which an

association between the State of Jammu and Kashmir and the Indian Dominion might be

negotiated in return for military assistance. The Indian side have been careful to avoid

specific reference to this particular document in their descriptions of the State of Jammu

and Kashmir’s plea for assistance. It is probable that it involved no more than a token

diminution of the State’s sovereignty. It certainly did not provide for an administration in

the State of Jammu and Kashmir presided over by Sheikh Abdullah.

The next significant element in that drama was the connivance of Lord Mountbatten, both

as out-going Viceroy and later as the first Governor General of India. While receiving the

Instrument of Accession regarding the State of Jammu and Kashmir, Lord Mountbatten,

explicitly stated in his acceptance letter of October 27, 1947, addressed to the Maharaja,

that ‘…it is my Government’s wish that as soon as law and order have been restored in

Kashmir and her soil cleared of the invader, the question of State’s accession should be

settled by the reference to the people. India’s military intervention in Jammu and Kashmir

in October 1947 was also accompanied by the solemn assurances of the Indian Government

to the Government of Pakistan that the final decision would be in accordance with the

wishes of the people of the State. The Indian Prime Minister in a telegram, dated October

27, 1947, to the Prime Minister of Pakistan stated: ‘I should like to make it clear that the

question of aiding Kashmir in the emergency is not designed in any way to influence the

State to accede to India. Our view which we have repeatedly made public is that the

question of accession in any disputed territory or State must be decided in accordance with

the wishes of the people and we adhere to this view.’ In another telegram dated October 31,

1947, Prime Minister Nehru again pledged: ‘Our assurance that we shall withdraw our

troops from Kashmir as soon as peace and order are restored and leave the decision

regarding the future of this State to the people of the state is not merely a promise to your

Government but also to the people of Kashmir and to the world’. Again, on November 2,

1947, in a broadcast on All-India Radio, Indian Prime Minister Nehru declared that the

Government of India ‘was prepared when peace and order have been established in

Kashmir to have a referendum held under international auspices like the United Nations.

These statements reflect the ‘conditional and provisional’ nature of the so-called accession.

As has been pointed out by Dr. Ijaz Hussain it establishes that ‘the accession of Kashmir to

India was not complete, final and irrevocable as contended by India. It was no more than an

ad hoc and temporary arrangement and was subject to reference to the people for its final

disposal.

India repeated the same commitment of deciding the question of the accession of Jammu

and Kashmir in accordance with the wishes of the people of the State, when it took the

issue to the United Nations in January 1948.The Indian efforts were to get Pakistan

declared as an ‘aggressor’.

As regards the controversy of ‘invaders’ or ‘raiders’ from Pakistan, as alleged by India,

according to research by Alastair Lamb, the Pathan tribesmen from the Pakistani side,

crossed over on the night of 21/22 October 1947 ‘at the invitation of internal elements in

the political struggle then going on in the State of Jammu and Kashmir. The clearing of the

way into the State at Domel was not that of forced entry by the tribesmen but of a gate

being opened, as it were, by rebels within the State of Jammu and Kashmir.Therefore, the

entry of tribesmen cannot be regarded as ‘aggression’ as termed by India.

However, when India realised that its initial attempts had failed and the United Nations,

which in clear-cut terms, also supported the right of the self-determination of the people of

Jammu and KashmirSimultaneously, India also started taking steps to gradually change the

status of Jammu and Kashmir, by tightening its illegal, unconstitutional control over the

State with the ultimate aim of unilaterally absorbing it within the Indian Union. While this

status accorded to Jammu and Kashmir went so far as to allow the Jammu and Kashmir

State, unlike any other Indian State, to have its own flag, constitutional structure and

government as well as judiciary, in June 1949, India exiled the Maharaja, and installed his

son, Karan Singh, temporarily as his Regent. The Indian government also put the National

Conference, under Sheikh Abdullah, in charge of running the administration of the State,

with the hope of using the National Conference as the rubber stamp for its other designs to

absorb the State.

In October 1950, the National Conference, with the Indian Government’s backing, tried to

convene its own Constituent Assembly to determine the future of the State. At Pakistan’s

request, the UN Security Council discussed the efforts to convene the Constituent

Assembly and in its Resolution 91 of March 30, 1951, stated: ‘the final disposition of the

State of Jammu and Kashmir will be made in accordance with the will of the people

expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite conducted

under the auspices of the United Nations’.The Indian government’s interest in the

Constituent Assembly of Kashmir was to obtain a ratification of the accession to the Indian

Union, whereas Sheikh Abdullah intended to retain the special autonomous status of

Jammu and Kashmir State within the Indian Union.In July 1952, Abdullah and Nehru

reached an agreement, the ‘Delhi Agreement’, whereby the special status of Kashmir under

Article 370 could not be changed without the approval of the Kashmir Constituent

Assembly.In August 1952, anti-Abdullah demonstrations were held in the State. Abdullah

adopted a tough policy against these demonstrations and ordered arrests of the Hindu

protestors. The Indian government, showing its displeasure, dismissed Abdullah as Prime

Minister on August 9, 1953, and imprisoned him, replacing him by Bakshi Ghulam

Mohammad.

In 1954, the president of India promulgated a Constitutional Order, with reference to

Indian-held Kashmir, empowering the Indian government ‘to legislate on all matters on the

Union List, not just defence, foreign affairs and communications.Finally, in November

1956, the Constituent Assembly of Indian-held Kashmir finalised the Constitution of the

State. The UN Security Council in its Resolution 122 of January 24, 1957, reaffirmed that

the ‘final disposition of the State of Jammu and Kashmir will be made in accordance with

the will of the people expressed through the democratic means under the auspices of the

United Nations’ and declared that ‘the convening of a Constituent Assembly as

recommended by the General Council of the “All Jammu and Kashmir National

Conference” and any action that Assembly may have taken or might attempt to take to

determine the future shape and affiliating of entire state or any part thereof, or action by the

parties concerned in support of any such action by the Assembly, would not constitute a

disposition of the State in accordance with the above principle.Thus, India was not able to

get UN approval for its constitutional dabbling to incorporate the State in the Indian Union.

KASHMIR FROM 1958 TO 1966:

Moreover, Sheikh Abdullah, then in prison, protested against the decision of the Constituent Assembly. There was a split in the National Conference and the breakaway faction, which was pro-Abdullah, known as the Plebiscite Front, was founded by Mirza Afzal Beg. The Front advocated plebiscite under the UN supervision. When Sheikh Abdullah was released in January 1958, he supported the Plebiscite Front and strongly criticised the decision of the Constituently Assembly. As a result Abdullah was again imprisoned in April 1958.

Nehru refused to discuss the subject bilaterally until 1963, when India, under pressure from the United States and Britain, engaged in six rounds of secret talks with Pakistan on "Kashmir and other related issues." These negotiations failed, as did the 1964 attempt at mediation made by Abdullah, who recently had been released from a long detention by the Indian government because of his objections to Indian control. Pakistan has continueed its quest for J&K, the only Muslim majority state in India

1965 Indo-Pakistani war:

March 1965: India claims Kashmir.The Indian Parliament passes a bill declaring Kashmir a province of India.

August 1965: Pakistan sends infiltrators,India accuses Pakistan of sending infiltrators to Kashmir. Indian forces cross the cease-fire line in Kashmir.

September 6, 1965: India retaliates against Pakistan.India attacks Pakistan across the international border and tries to capture Pakistan's second largest city, Lahore.

Resolution adopted by the Security Council at its meeting on 20 September 1965:

The Security Council; 

1. demands that a cease-fire should take effect on Wednesday, Sept. 22, 1965, at 0700 hours GMT, and calls upon both Governments to issue orders for a cease-fire at that moment and a subsequent withdrawal of all armed personnel back to the positions held by them before Aug. 5, 1965; 

2. Requests the Secretary-General to provide the necessary assistance to ensure supervision of the cease-fire and withdrawal of all armed personnel; 

3. calls on all States to refrain from any action which might aggravate the situation in the area; 

4. Decides to consider, as soon as operative paragraph 1 of the Council's resolution of Sept. 6 has been implemented, what steps could be taken to assist towards a settlement of the political problem underlying the present conflict, and in the meantime calls on the two Governments to utilize all peaceful means, including those listed in Article 33 of the Charter, to this end; 

5. Requests the Secretary-General to exert every possible effort to give effect to this resolution, to seek a peaceful solution, and to report to the Security Council thereon.

However, disregarding that some fifteen resolutions were passed by the United Nations to this very effect, India and Pakistan again initiated military skirmish in 1965. At this point, another cease-fire agreement was effected after United Nations intervention, followed by an agreement at Tashkent with the good offices of the USSR.

September 23, 1965: Calls for an end to hostilities.The United Nations Security Council arrange a cease-fire Line

In 1965, India and Pakistan once again went to war over Kashmir. A cease-fire was established in September 1965. Indian Prime Minister Lal Bhadur Shastri and Pakistani president Ayub Khan signed the Tashkent Declaration on 1 January 1966. They resolved to try to end the dispute by peaceful means.

January 10, 1966: Tashkent agreement signed:The Soviet Union arranges talks between Pakistan and India. The Tashkent Agreement is signed through the mediating efforts of the Soviet Prime Minister Alexi Kosygin. The agreement reaffirms that the dispute should be settled by peaceful means. The armies are to withdraw to their original positions and the second war between two countries end.

KASHMIR ISSUE FROM 1967 TO 1979:

After the 1967 elections, the central government invited Karan Singh, then Sadar-i-Riyasat, to join the cabinet as Minister for Tourism. He immediately resigned as Sadar-i-Riyasat and the central government appointed an acting Governor to the State. Thus, the central government was able to abolish the office of Sadar-i-Riyasat and in its place establish the office of Governor, which appeared, at least

on the surface, to bring it into line with the structure of the rest of the Indian States..

India is also against third party intervention, stating that the issue can be resolved bilaterally under the Simla Agreement. The Agreement was signed on July 2, 1972, but India has done nothing to resolve the issue in the last 3 years, rather it has rebuffed all the overtures made by Pakistan to this effect. Moreover, the Agreement neither alters the disputed status of Kashmir nor precludes the role of the United Nations, as explained below:-

 Point 1 (i) of the Agreement – states that the UN Charter shall govern

The relation between the parties. Point 1 (ii) – does not exclude the UN for a peaceful settlement.

Point 1 (iv) – refers to the Kashmir issue as the basic issue and cause of Conflict between the two nations. Point 5 (ii) – protects the recognized positions of both Pakistan and India and differentiates the “Line of Control” from the international borders. Point 7 – describes the Kashmir dispute as one of the outstanding issues.        Articles 34 and 35 of the UN Charter – empower the Security Council to Investigate any dispute, without subservience to any bilateral agreement.        Article 103 – obligations under the Charter take precedence over obligations Under a bilateral agreement.  The issue is on the UN agenda. The presence of the UN Military Observers Group in India and Pakistan also confirms the UN involvement in the dispute.  INDO-PAKISTANI WAR 1971

Although Kashmir was not the cause of 1971 war between the two countries, a limited war did occur on the Kashmir front in December 1971. The 1971 war was followed by the signing of the Simla Accord, under which India and Pakistan are obliged to resolve the dispute through bilateral talks.

On July 24, 1973, they bothSigned another agreement in New Delhi agreeing to repatriate all POW’s except for 195Who were held to be tried but were later released without trial.While it demanded a plebiscite in the Indian-part of Kashmir, PakistanUnilaterally detached Gilgit Agency and Baltistan from Azad Kashmir in 1974, andIntegrated them into Pakistan.

Both India and Pakistan had other important domestic problems which kept Kashmir on the back-burner. In 1975 Indira Gandhi declared a state of national emergency, but she was defeated in the 1978 general elections.Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was overthrown and hanged in 1979; Pakistan reverted to military dictatorship under Gen Zia ul Haq.

KASHMIR ISSUE FROM 1980 TO 1988

The late 1980s, Muslim resistance to Indian rule escalated, with some militants supporting independence and others union with Pakistan. The balance of influence had decisively tilted in Pakistan's favour by the late 1980s

April 13, 1984: In Operation Meghdoot, the Indian Army captures the Siachen Glacier region of Kashmir, starting the Siachen conflictl.

Sheikh Abdullah governed the state until he died onSeptember 21, 1982. His son, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, succeeded him. But Farooq joined by the influential Cleric Maulvi Farooq of the Awami Action Committee demanded autonomy, the kind that had been promised in the 1952 Delhi Agreement to his father.During the 1983 legislative elections despite Mrs. Gandhi’s anger and her manipulationOf the elections, he stressed this theme and won the election. Upset by his demand forAutonomy, Mrs. Gandhi intervened in the domestic politics of the state and dismissedAbdullah’s government in 1984, by engineering defections from his party led by hisBrother-in-law, G. M. Shah. She brought the state under central control (Presidential rule) temporarily and then installed Shah as its Chief Minister. But as communalViolence increased under his leadership, in the Valley and Jammu, between Muslims andHindus allegedly encouraged by him, he was dismissed in 1986. In the same year, in aSurprisingly volte face, perhaps, as a matter of expediency, Abdullah signed a deal withMr. Rajiv Gandhi, the new Prime Minister, who had succeeded his mother following herAssassination in June 1984. In June 1986, a coalition of National Conference andCongress was formed. This coalition won a landslide victory in the March 1987 electionsBut it did not help Abdullah to keep power for long.

May, 1987: As a result of an agreement between Rajiv Gandhi and Farooq Abdullah, elections for the Jammu and Kashmir State Assembly are blatantly fixed in favor of the National Conference, resulting in widespread unrest in the state

1988: Operation Tupac launched by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence to support militants in Kashmir with aim of disintegrating India.

KASHMIR ISSUE FROM 1989 TO 1999:

Since 1989, the situation in Occupied Kashmir has undergone a qualitative change. In that year, disappointed by decades-old indifference of the world community towards their just cause and threatened by growing Indian state suppression, the Kashmiri Muslim people rose in revolt against India. A popular uprising that has gained momentum with every passing day—unlike the previous two popular uprisings by Kashmir’s (1947-48, first against Dogra rule and then against Indian occupation; and 1963, against Indian rule.

The initial Indian response to the 1989 Kashmiri uprising was the imposition of Governor’s Rule in the disputed State in 1990, which was done after dissolving the government of Farooq Abdullah, the son of Sheikh Abdullah.

January 19, 1990: Kashmir brought under Indian control:The Indian government brings Kashmir under its direct control. The state legislature is suspended, the government is removed and the former Director General of the Indian Secret Service, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Mr. Jagmohan is appointed governor.

January 20, 1990: Gawakadal massacre:There are large-scale demonstrations and thirty people are killed by Indian security forces. A curfew is imposed in most cities.

February 27, 1990: United Nations not allowed in Kashmir:India refuses to allow any United Nations official to visit Kashmir.

Feberuary 28, 1990: Zakoora And Tengpora Massacre :In order to halt the people, who were to submit a memorandum to United Nation Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), Indian army opened fire at Tengpora bypass and Zakoora crossing in Srinagar, killing 26 and 21 demonstrators, respectively.

April 14, 1990: military reinforcements in Kashmir:Indian authorities send military reinforcements to Kashmir.

To crush the Kashmiri freedom movement, India has employed various means of state terrorism, including a number of draconian laws, massive counter-insurgency operations, and other oppressive measures. The draconian laws, besides several others, include the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act, 1990;  Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA), 1990; the Jammu & Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978 (amended in 1990); and the Jammu & Kashmir Disturbed Areas Act, 1990.                                           

June 11, 1991: Syed Mansoor-Chota Bazaar massacre: The CRPF troops opened indiscriminate fire, having been frightened by the sound of a tire burst, leaving 32 civilians killed in the densely populated area of Chotabazar, Srinagar. The killed included, shopkeepers,passers-by, old persons, women and children.

November 1992: Amnesty International not allowed into Kashmir:Amnesty International is barred from going to the Kashmir valley by Indian Government.

January 1 - 3, 1994: another failure over Kashmir:Pakistan and India's foreign secretaries fail to narrow differences on Kashmir. Pakistan rules out more talks unless India ends alleged human rights violations in Kashmir.

January 20, 1995: India doesn't want third-party involvement in Kashmir:India excludes the possibility of third-party involvement in the resolution of the Kashmir dispute. But it says it is prepared to hear from Pakistan directly about how much "elbow room" is necessary to commence talks between the two countries.

May 12, 1995: anti-India protest in the wake of Chrar Sharif fire:Anti-India protests overwhelm the Kashmir Valley in the wake of the destruction of the 650-year-old mausoleum of Sheikh Nooruddin Wali (R.A.) and a mosque next to it.

May 18, 1995: APHC (All Parties Huriyat Conference) rejects offer for talks on Kashmir with India.The APHC rejects an offer for talks on Kashmir by New Delhi. The organization says it will not enter into any dialogue with New Delhi unless India admits Kashmir is a disputed territory.

December 23, 1995: APHC seeks intervention of UN, OIC and others: The APHC seeks the intervention of the United Nations, Organization of the Islamic Conference, Amnesty International and other worldwide human rights bodies to help stop India's destruction of occupied Kashmir.

February 16, 1996: APHC calls for tripartite talks:Kashmiri groups ask India and Pakistan to begin tripartite talks to end the six-year-old rebellion against New Delhi. The groups say most Muslims in the area support the proposal.

May 5, 1996: Indian Prime Minister makes his first visit to Kashmir:Indian Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao makes his first visit to Kashmir.

May 13, 1996: government employees boycott Indian elections: Over 1.5 million government workers assigned to election duty by Indian authorities strike for 18 days to boycott the electoral process at the call of Jammu and Kashmir Government Employees Confederation.

June 8, 1996: APHC rejects greater autonomy:The APHC rejects the Indian government's offer of greater autonomy for occupied Kashmir. The organization says the problem cannot be resolved by remaining in India.

September 14, 1996: APHC leadership arrested:Prior to elections for the state assembly, Indian troops arrest the APHC's entire leadership.

September 16, 1996: Elections held in Kashmir:

March 3, 1997: Mujahedeen reject carving up Kashmir:Kashmiri Mujahedeen reject the carving up of Kashmir between India and Pakistan. "The proposal for any kind of division of the state can never be accepted by the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and we will always oppose it," says Shabir Ahmed Shah, a Kashmiri leader.

March 28, 1997: India and Pakistan begin negotiations:

Pakistan's Foreign Secretary, Shamshad Ahmed, and India's Foreign Secretary, Salman Haider, meet at the negotiating table for the first time in three years. The issue of Kashmir is high on the agenda.

March 31, 1997: talks look hopeful:Pakistan and India end four days of talks aimed at reducing tension and agree to meet again in Islamabad.

May 12, 1997: India and Pakistan meet again:Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Indian Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral agree to establish joint working groups to resolve all outstanding issues between the two countries since 1947.

June 22, 1997: India and Pakistan reach an agreement:Pakistan and India agree to establish a mechanism for enduring dialogue on issues between the two countries.

June 23, 1997: Kashmir is one of eight major issues:Pakistan and India pinpoint eight issues to be discussed in future talks including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir. However, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif says the country maintains its stand on Kashmir.

July 27, 1997: Gujral does a turnaround:

In a turnaround from the previous day's statement, Indian Prime Minister, Inder Kumar Gujral, says that Kashmiri Mujahidin would have to surrender their arms before peace talks with the government could begin.

August 10, 1997: increase in reports of harassment of Kashmiri women:Reports are coming through of Kashmiri women and girls being arrested, tortured and raped by Indian security forces. The chairperson of the Indian Commission for Women, Dr.

Mohini Giri, said Kashmiri women were being treated in the most inhumane way all over Kashmir.

October 12, 1997: rioting after Jami Mosque desecration:Angry anti-India demonstrations are sparked by the desecration of the historic Jamia Mosque in Srinagar by Indian troops. They besieged the mosque, entered it wearing their boots and carried out an extensive search for three hours.

January 25, 1998: Wandhama massacre 23 Kashmiri Pandit villagers killed by militants.

April 10, 1998: Pakistan and India should "go the extra mile":United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Bill Richardson, urges Pakistan and India to "go the extra mile" and hold a dialogue on Kashmir and other issues in order to stop the nuclear missile race in the area.

April 22, 1998: appointment of new Kashmir governor: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government appoints Girsh Saxena as Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. The appointment is resented by human rights activists and intellectuals who demanded a senior politician close to Kashmir be sent as governor.

May 11 and 13, 1998: India conducts five nuclear tests.

May 28 and 30, 1998: Pakistan responds by conducting its six nuclear tests (five on May 28 and one on May 30).

May 26, 1998: Indian troops and Mujahedeen clash:In Indian-occupied Kashmir, Mujahedeen clash with Indian troops in the Keri, Rajauri area.

May 30, 1998: India responds to nuclear testing:In response to Pakistan's nuclear testing, India warns Islamabad about Kashmir. Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee says while India was ready to talk to Pakistan it should harbor no ambitions towards capturing Kashmir. Pakistan says it is prepared to have a non-aggression pact with India on the basis of just settlement of the Kashmir issue.

June 6, 1998: Pakistan proposes Kashmir resolution and a halt to nuclear arms buildup:Pakistani Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, proposes talks between Islamabad and New Delhi to stop the South Asian arms race and urges the international community to help resolve the issue of Kashmir.

August 1, 1998: "massive" joint operations against Mujahedeen:India's Home Minister, L.K. Advani, says more forces are being sent to Indian-occupied Kashmir for "massive" joint operations. He said this is because the Kashmiri Mujahedeen have intensified their efforts in the valley for the last many months.

August 26, 1998: India bans Britannica CD-ROM:India bans importation of Encyclopedia Britannica on CD-ROM because it shows Kashmir as a disputed territory.

August 29, 1998: Nelson Mandela's involvement in Kashmir issue urged:The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) calls on South African President, Nelson Mandela, to persuade Pakistani and Indian teams attending a Non-Aligned Movement meeting to solve the Kashmir issue in a peaceful, democratic and permanent manner.

September 2, 1998: NAM calls for resolution of Kashmir dispute:For the first time in history, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) calls for a peaceful resolution of the dispute over Jammu and Kashmir. Nelson Mandela, who chaired the 12th NAM summit, says everyone should hope the issue of Jammu and Kashmir is solved through peaceful negotiations and everyone should be willing to help resolve the matter.

Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee says "third parties" should stay out of the Kashmir dispute.

September 23, 1998: Pakistan and India agree to resume Kashmir talks:Pakistan and India agree to resume stalled dialogue on Kashmir and other security issues.

February 1999:When the Indian Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, set out to Lahore by bus on February 20, 1999, inaugurating the four times a week Delhi-Lahore-Delhi bus service, the world felt that such a genuine effort at friendly neighbourhood relations would lower the tension along the Line of Control in Kashmir

1999 Kargil WarMay 26, 1999: Kargil War

Conflict in Kargil: Location of conflict.

In mid-1999 insurgents and Pakistani soldiers from Pakistani Kashmir infiltrated into Jammu and Kashmir. During the winter season, Indian forces regularly move down to lower altitudes as severe climatic conditions make it almost impossible for them to guard the high peaks near the Line of Control. The insurgents took advantage of this and occupied vacant mountain peaks of the Kargil range overlooking the highway in Indian Kashmir, connecting Srinagar and Leh. By blocking the highway, they wanted to cut off the only link between the Kashmir Valley and Ladakh. This resulted in a high-scale conflict between the Indian Army and the Pakistan Army. In the first week of August 1998 Indian and Pakistani troops exchanged artillery fire, described by locals as heavier than that of the 1948 and 1965 wars put together. An estimated 50,000 rounds of ammunition were expended and a large number of soldiers and civilians killed. In the summer of 1999 hostility in Kargil went far beyond the now familiar annual exhange of artillery fire. .

Pakistan insisted that those involved were freedom fighters from Kashmir and that it was giving only moral support. India ordered the jets not to stray into Pakistani territory; but those that did were shot down

At the same time, fears of the Kargil War turning into a nuclear war provoked.The conflict ended only after Bill Clinton, the US President, and Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan's Prime minister, met in Washington on July 4, 1999. Faced with mounting losses of personnel and posts, Pakistan Army withdrew the remaining troops from the area ending the conflict. India reclaimed control of the peaks which they now patrol and monitor all year long.

Yet this, by all accounts of soldiers and top Indian army officers involved, was a war in which India lost men engaged in hand-to-hand combat with Pakistani soldiers in the

heights of Kargil - a war that could be compared with the one of 1948-49, which was limited to Kashmir, with the other border regions remaining peaceful.

Thus in 1999, in a war limited to one sector, India suffered casualities within its own territory. Despite much pressure from the military and the public, the government decided not to cross the LOC. Pakistan too suffered criticism at home for limiting its war to artillery fire across the LOC and shooting down Indian aircraft.

The fear of a full-scale war (with nuclear capability adding a deadly dimension), coupled with precarious economies and the knowledge of what international sanctions could do to them, may have prevailed in both countries.

India and Pakistan both tested nuclear devices in May 1998, and then in April 1999 test-fired missiles in efforts to perfect delivery systems for their nuclear weapons. Pakistan tested its Ghauri II missile four days after India's testing of its long-range (1,250 km) Agni II. Pakistan's later intermediate-range Ghauri III missile has a range of about 3,000 km.

KASHMIR ISSUE FROM 2000 TO 2008:

2000sFebruary 2000: US President makes statement:President Bill Clinton says he would be happy to mediate between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir conflict -- if asked.

March 2000: killings in mosque:Indian troops in kashmir kill three separatists in a mosque near the border town of Handwara..

November 2000: call for Muslim nations to cut ties with India:A leading separatist, Syed Salahuddin, calls on Muslim nations to cut diplomatic and economic ties with India. At the same time, Kashmiri leaders call on India to recognize the territory as disputed and to hold talks with Pakistan and Kashmiri leaders.

June 2001: fresh talks: A new round of talks is slated to begin between India and Pakistan on the issue of Kashmir.

July 14–16, 2001: General Pervez Musharraf and Atal Behari Vajpayee meet for peace talks, Agra Summit: Indian Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, and Pakistani President, Pervez Musharraf, meet in Agra, India for a summit on relations between the two nations.

SEPTEMBER, 2001: A dangerous trend that had surfaced in the post-September 11, 2001, international scenario is the unspecified nature of America’s ‘anti-terrorism’ campaign, in which there was a blurring of distinctions between terrorist activities and genuine struggles by oppressed people for self-determination. Taking advantage of the unspecified nature of the ‘anti-terrorism’ campaign, the BJP government in India had seized the opportunity to attempt to clinch the Kashmir dispute according to its own thinking, by recasting the indigenous Kashmir struggle as a terrorist one. But international community act with responsibility and commitment and don’t act according to Indian thinking. International communities do not mix the struggle of kashmiri’s with terrorism.

October 2001: 2001 attack on Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly kills 38 people.

December 2001: Attack on Indian parliament in New Delhi initiates the 2001-2002 India-Pakistan standoffs.

May 2, 2003: India and Pakistan restore diplomatic ties.

July 11, 2003: Delhi-Lahore bus service resumes.

Time ideal for resolving Kashmir: MusharrafJune 10, 2004 13:26 IST,Asserting the time is now ideal for India and Pakistan to resolve all issues between them, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has said sincerity, flexibility and boldness are required to find a "viable, genuine and lasting" settlement to the "central Kashmir issue" within a "reasonable time-line".

The SAARC Summit, 2004: Observing that India will find Pakistan sincere and responsive for any initiative to improve relations, Musharraf said, "The issue of Kashmir is at the centrestage, we cannot deny it, it must be resolved in an equitable and honourable manner, acceptable to India, Pakistan and the Kashmiris."

"If Pakistan and India can settle the Kashmir issue in accordance with the aspirations of Kashmiris, a new chapter in our troubled history will undoubtedly begin with a win-win for all."

Musharraf referred to his four-point approach towards the resolution of Kashmir, which includes commencement of talks; acceptance of the centrality of Kashmir; taking off all solutions unacceptable to any of the three parties; and the choice of the most feasible and acceptable solution out of the remaining options.

"A solution will emerge if all sides are mindful of the problem, if all parties, especially Kashmiris, are given an opportunity to have their say and are associated with a credible, sincere and serious quest for a final settlement between Pakistan and India," he said.

Musharraf said since independence, the list of disputes between Pakistan and India has been growing. Besides Jammu and Kashmi the two countries are also committed to hold talks over Siachen, Baglihar Dam, Wullar Barrage, Sir Creek Issue and now nuclear CBMs. "Most of these issues will hopefully, figure in the composite dialogue with India," Musharraf said.

He said the issues relating to the Indus Water Treaty could be resolved through a sincere application of the treaty's dispute settlement mechanism. Musharraf said progress on confidence building measures cannot be delinked from progress on dialogue on all issues.

"I am hopeful that composite, structured and sustained dialogue agreed to between India and Pakistan on January 6, 2004, would stay on course and meet the various deadlines," he said.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid M Kasuri suggested that the current setup, in which Musharraf was the president as well the chief of army, was ideal to reach a settlement on the Kashmir issue.

In his address followed by an interaction, Musharraf said he did not agree with the proposition that the final settlement of the Kashmir dispute would take a long time. "It would take a long time if we lack sincerity. If we are prepared to meet and deal with the problems with sincerity, it will not take much time."

Musharraf said the seminar was timely as it was being held soon after the new government led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had taken over in New Delhi.(Republication or redistribution of PTI content).

September 24, 2004: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Musharraf meet in New York during UN General Assembly.

Pervez Musharraf: Kashmir issue should be resolved

July, 2006: Second round of Indo-Pakistani peace talks

“Joint Statement issued after the Meeting between President of Pakistan and the Prime Minister of India on the sidelines of NAM Summit, Havana on 16 September 2006”

President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had a cordial, frank and detailed exchange of views on all aspects of India-Pakistan relations.The leaders agreed that the peace process must be maintained and its success was important for both countries and the future of the entire region.In this context, they directed the Foreign Secretaries to resume composite dialogue at the earliest possible.The leaders decided to continue the joint search for mutually acceptable options for a peaceful negotiated settlement of all issues between India and Pakistan including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir in a sincere and purposeful manner.To arrange consultations for early solution of the Siachen issue. Experts should meet immediately to agree on coordinates for joint survey of Sir Creek and adjoining area, without prejudice to each others position on the issue. The survey should commence in November 2006. The experts should start discussion on the Maritime boundary.The two sides will facilitate implementation of agreements and understandings already reached on LoC related CBMs, including bus services, crossing points and truck service.The President of Pakistan renewed his invitation to the Prime Minister of India to visit Pakistan .

India, which is jockeying for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council should remind itself about the UN Security Council resolutions on Kashmir, which it has persistently

Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf Thursday said Kashmir issue has a central role and its solution should be in line with the wishes of Kashmir people. Addressing the nation over radio and television on Thursday night, Musharraf said there has been improvement in the relations with India and Pakistan is dealing with that country on the basis of sovereign equality, without any compromise on principles. "He said. Pakistan has stated that it will show flexibility but this willnot be done unilaterally, Regarding Kashmir dispute, he said Pakistan has not shifted from its principled stand that the Kashmir issue should be resolved through plebiscite as provided in the United Nations Security Council resolutions, publishes Xinhua.(30-12-2004)

defied with impunity. Similarly, the world community should also recognize its responsibility under the UN Charter to resolve the Kashmir issue. If the UN resolutions on Iraq, Kosovo and East Timor can be implemented, why not the resolutions on Kashmir?  

HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS COMMITTED BY INDIAN TROOPS IN IOK (FROM JANUARY, 1989 TO FEBRUARY, 2006) 

Total Killings                                90,776Custodial Killings                           6,817Civilians Arrested                       111,269Houses/Shops Destroyed           105,143Women Widowed                       22,371Children Orphaned                    106,616

                  Women Molested                          9,637             (Source: All Parties Hurriyat Conference)

Feb, 2007: Samjhauta Express firebombed, 67 killed.

June, 2007: Two Indian soldiers have been paraded naked for allegedly attempting to rape a girl in Indian-administered Kashmir, police say.

June 2008: Amarnath land transfer controversy. Huge anti-India protests were held against the transfer of land to SASB (shrine board), which was an outside state organization, as it was a direct violation of article 370 of the Indian constitution.

August 25, 2008: All anti Indian ,separatist and Islamist organisation leaders arrested due to their uncontrolled anti-Indian activities , to restore the law and order in the Indian-administered Kashmir.

December 24, 2008: 2008 Kashmir Elections: Assembly elections held in Jammu and Kashmir.

December 30, 2008: Omar Abdullah of National Conference chosen the new Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir takes oath on January 5, 2009, becoming the 11th and the youngest Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.

December,2008:Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, former Pakistani Prime Minister, a well known friend of Kashmir, was brutally assassinated in Rawalpindi towards the very end of the previous year. Her killing had cast a long shadow over Kashmir.

KASHMIR ISSUE IN 2009:

Kashmiris ushered in 2009 with prayers of peace and normalcy.

May 18, 2009:Extrajudicial killing of a civilian, Manzoor Ahmad Beigh, in the custody of Special Operations Group of Indian police triggered massive anti-India protests near his residence at Alochi Bagh.

May 26, 2009:Arif Ayub Wani of Ganderpora killed by Indian police during a protest in downtown against the custodial killing of Manzoor Ahmad Beigh.

May 31, 2009:Shopian rape and murder caseNJ:Protests over rape and murder of two young women allegedly by Indian Armed Forces. Pro-freedom leaders arrested and police and paramilitary forces resorted to firing at protesters in several places, including Shopian, Baramulla and Srinagar killing one person and injuring hundreds. Four Indian police officials were suspended Monday over the cover up of a rape and murder case that has sent shockwaves through the disputed Muslim-majority Kashmir region, officials said.

June 2 2009: 17-year-old Nigeen Awan was shot and killed at her residence by Militants.

PAKISTAN TIMES (Editor: Mumtaz Hamid Rao)

Foreign Minister briefs Kashmiri leadership on Kashmir issue 'Pakistan Times' Special Correspondent

ISLAMABAD: Kashmiri leadership Friday appreciating Pakistan’s efforts to resolve the Kashmir issue expressed their resolve and commitment to continue their efforts to find a just and peaceful resolution of the issue of Jammu and Kashmir.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi briefed the Kashmiri leadership and leaders of political parties of Azad Kashmir on the Kashmir issue and recent announcement by the government to give autonomy to Gilgat-Baltistan.

The briefing, held at Foreign Office, was attended by Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira, President Azad Jammu and Kashmir Raja Zulqarnain Khan, Prime Minister Azad Jammu and Kashmir Muhammad Yaqoob Khan, representatives of Indian Occupied Kashmir leaders and other Kashmiri leaders. .

The meeting said the elections in Indian Occupied Kashmir are not a substitute for the right to self-determination. The low vote turnout in the elections was a clear message to New Delhi that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have rejected all steps by India to force its will on the people of Jammu and Kashmir. The meeting endorsed the holding of a conference on Kashmir early next year.

Earlier, the Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi while giving detailed briefing to the Kashmiri leaders said, “Pakistan remains committed to finding a just and peaceful solution of the issue of Jammu and Kashmir in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions and aspirations of people of Kashmir.”

The minister said Pakistan will continue its moral, political and diplomatic support to the people of Kashmir. He said all political parties in Pakistan speak with one voice on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir.

The minister said Kashmir holds the key to a durable peace in the region.“We feel that Kashmir dispute is central to Pakistan-India relations which highlights the need for the Kashmiris to be associated with the dialogue process.

Referring to the recent meetings between the two prime ministers at Sharm-El-Sheikh the Foreign Minister said, it underlines that “the two prime ministers recognized that dialogue is the only way forward.” He said, “We feel that the reaction in India to the Pakistan-India talks in Sharm El-Sheikh and the subsequent joint statement has been emotional.”

Qureshi said a major step has been announced by the government recently to grant empowerment to the people of the Northern Areas now Gilgit-Baltistan and termed it indeed an important development.

EU 22 July 2009EuAsiaNewsParliament Hosts 'Kashmir Week'

Brussels: A 'Kashmir EU Week' kicked off in the European Parliament (EP) here Wednesday evening with the aim to draw attention to the Kashmir issue. The Kashmir week is organised by the pro-Pakistan Kashmir Centre in Brussels together with the All Party Group for Kashmir in the EP. The guest speaker at the opening ceremony was Qamar Zaman Kaira, Pakistani Minister for Information and Broadcasting as well as for Kashmir Affairs. Earlier, speaking at a press conference in the EP, Kaira said Pakistan 'supports the self determination of the Kashmiri people.' 'We want dialogue with India on all outstanding issues and Kashmir is the biggest issue,' he said. Kaira described the recent Sharm el Sheikh,meeting between Pakistani Prime Minister Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh as 'very constructive' adding that all issues were discussed. James Elles, British Member of the EP and Chairman of the All Party Group for Kashmir said it was the fifth time that a Kashmir week was being organised in the EP. He said it was a 'good significance' that the new EU parliamentarians in their first meeting in Brussels 'besides their mails what they will see is Kashmir.' Elles welcomed the composite dialogue between India and Pakistan and said that peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue would bring prosperity to both countries. On his part, Barrister A. Majid. Tramboo, Chairman of Kashmir Centre, called on the new EP to hold 'independent and impartial investigations into the mass grave issue in Kashmir' and 'speak more vigorously on human rights in Indian-occupied Kashmir.' A number of MEPs attended the opening ceremony of the exhibition on Kashmir. The new 736-member EP was elected for a 5-year period following the June European elections.

Peaceful Resolution of Kashmir Dispute Imperative for Prosperity Of Region: Kaira22 July 2009Associated Press of Pakistan

Brussels: Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas Qamar Zaman Kaira said on Wednesday that peaceful resolution of Kashmir issue is imperative as it would bring development and prosperity in the region. Talking to journalists after his meeting with Member European Parliament and Chairman All Party Kashmir Group in EU Parliament, James Elles here,he said Pakistan has always supported amicable and peaceful resolution of Kashmir issue as per resolutions of United Nations. James Elles and Executive Director Kashmir Centre Brussels Barrister Abdul Majeed Trambu were also present on the occasion. The minister said that the long standing issue of Kashmir has been lingering on the UN agenda for last six decades and urged the participation of Kashmiris in composite dialogue process between India and Pakistan. Kaira said:'In dialogue

process,involvement of Kashmiri leadership was a must as it would help them achieve their right to self determination.' He congratulated James Elles over his re-election as member EU Parliament and lauded the role of EU for highlighting the Kashmir issue at the international level. Meanwhile, Minister for Kashmir Affairs also visited an exhibition of Kashmiri arts and crafts held in connection with the Kashmir Week at EU.He also visited the picture exhibition on human rights violations by the Indian occupation forced in the Indian occupied Kashmir.

No changes in principle stand on Kashmir issue: Pakistan Updated at: 1352 PST, Friday, August 07, 2009

The Foreign Office spokesman stated, “There is no ambiguity and no change in Pakistan’s principled position on Jammu and Kashmir.” The spokesman said Pakistan seeks a just settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with relevant United Nation resolutions.

August 20 2009: Human Rights workers discovered several unmarked graves containing about 1,500 unidentified bodies in Indian Administered Kashmir. Last year in a report titled, "Facts under Ground" APDP had reported finding the unmarked graves of about 1,000 people near Uri, an area near the de facto frontier that divides Indian- and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir and referred to as Line of Control.

Obama on Kashmir Conflict

In an interview with Joe Klien of Time magazine Barack Obama expressed his intention to try to work with India and Pakistan to resolve this crisis in a serious way. President Obama appointed Richard Holbrooke as special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan.President Asif Ali Zardari had hoped that Holbrooke would help mediate to resolve Kashmir issue.Subsequently Kashmir was removed from the mandate of Richard Holbrooke “Eliminating … Kashmir from his job description … is seen as a significant diplomatic concession to India that reflects increasingly warm ties between the country and the United States,”.

In July 2009 US Assistant Secretary of State Robert O. Blake, stated categorically that United States had no plans of appointing any special envoy to settle the long standing dispute of Kashmir between India and Pakistan calling it an issue which needs to be sorted out bilaterally by the two neighboring states.According to Dawn in Pakistan this will be interpreted as an endorsement of India’s position on Kashmir that no outside power has any role in this DISPUTE

Pakistan urges resumption of talks, On Kashmir

Date: 3 September 2009

Islamabad also sought to revive the Kashmir issue that found no explicit mention in the Sharm el-Sheikh joint statement that came out of the July 16 meeting between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani. The resumption of the sub-continental dialogue would provide a good opportunity to address various issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan's High Commissioner to India

Shahid Malik said while addressing senior defence and civilian officers at the National Defense College here. [Courtesy: Times of India]

25 SEPTEMBER 2009: Without solving Kashmir issue, it is not possible to maintain peace in the region. (PRIME MINISTER YOUSUF RAZA GILANI).

26 SEPTEMBER 2009: Addressing from 64th session of the United Nations General assembly, President of Pakistan Asif ali zardari said “For the betterment of the region, we have to solve issue of Kashmir”. The world has shrunk and a regional conflict can engulf the whole world, especially because India and Pakistan are both nuclear powers. Therefore, the world community should not ignore the plight of the Kashmiris, who are writing their tales of woe in blood. It should come forward and stop the injustice meted out to them at the hands of the Indians. Dr. Martin Luther King very aptly remarked: “The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people, but the silence over that by the good people”. Solving issue of Kashmir as soon as possible will provide peace and prosperity between Pakistan and India as well as in the world.

SUGESSTION:

1) Kashmir Issue should be solved according to wish of kashmiris.2) Kashmir Issue should be solved according to UN resolution which said that

through plebiscite kashmiris choose their future.3) Start freedom fight against Indian army (terrorists) for independence of Kashmir

from Indian occupation.4) India will never give Kashmiris peaceful region so with the help of Pakistan

army by hook or by crook snatch the independence from India.5) Pakistan should help the kashmiri separatist group. Give them training or other

required things.6) Pakistan should help kashmiris financially or morally.7) With the help of China,Nepal,Bangladesh,srilanka Pakistan should start war

against India and get Kashmir back.8) World should take interest in solving Kashmir issue and contempt Indian

occupation on Kashmir.9) Now, Indian army bloody face against Kashmiri people was known by the world

so,Un should take step against Indian army and forced it to left Kashmir.10) Any talks on Kashmir, kashmiris should involve.11) Pakistan and India relationship will only be good by solving Kashmir issue.12) We should start pressuring India with the help of other countries to withdraw its

troops from Kashmir.13) India should withdraw from its false right on Kashmir.14) India will never give rights to Kashmiris which is against humanity.15) If Kashmir issue is not solved there is no peace in the region.