15.10.11

J&K Report snippets



The interlocutors’ report on Jammu and Kashmir, which talks about a “permanent political settlement” for the troubled state, explains in detail the ‘misinterpretation’ of the UN resolution made by Pakistan and the separatists. It has even questioned Islamabad’s move to cede certain territory to China. One chapter of the report is learnt to have explained the UN resolution on J&K. It deals in detail on how Pakistan and the separatists have conveniently ignored a key point of the resolution that refers to withdrawal of Islamabad from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir before even exploring the ‘plebiscite’ option. The chapter says that the UN resolution talked about ceasefire, withdrawal of Pakistan from PoK and plebiscite. It says that while Pakistan accepted ‘ceasefire’ and has been supporting separatists for ‘plebiscite’, it has not moved a bit on handing over administration of the area occupied by it to India. This particular chapter also points out that Pakistan has virtually changed the demographic profile of PoK over the years, but such things have not happened in the Indian side due to existing laws like Article 370 which prohibit people from other Indian states to buy property and settle there. The report also takes note of the areas Pakistan handed over to China and asks if the neighbouring country had not violated the UN resolution. Interestingly, the report, submitted by interlocutors Dileep Padgaonkar, Radha Kumar and M M Ansari to home minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday, has not once used ‘popular’ words that are being used in the political discourse of Jammu and Kashmir. Be it ‘autonomy’ (being used by the National Conference) or ‘selfrule’ (by People’s Democratic Party) or the separatists’ choice of ‘azadi’ and ‘right to selfdetermination’, the single volume report having a number of annexures prefera to give them a miss without ignoring the ‘intent’.

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