With the annual observation of Kashmir Solidarity Day, calls were once again raised from the streets to the heights of government to demand implementation of UN Resolution 47 that calls for the withdrawal of Indian forces and the holding of a plebiscite “on the question of the accession of the state to India or Pakistan”. What was forgotten in these impassioned cries was Section A (1)(a) of the resolution:
A. RESTORATION OF PEACE AND ORDER
1. The Government of Pakistan should undertake to use its best endeavours:
(a) To secure the withdrawal from the State of Jammu and Kashmir of tribesman and Pakistani nationals not normally resident therein who have entered the state for the purpose of fighting, and to prevent any intrusion into the State of such elements and any furnishing of material aid to those fighting in the State;
The very first requirement of UN Resolution 47, of which everyone from Jamaati-e-Islami to the Foreign Office insists must be implemented in full force, is the complete termination of jihad in Kashmir.
The UN has mandated certain requirements of India that conclude by letting the Kashmiri people determine their own fate. Adherence to these requirements should be mandatory before any consideration is given to India’s wish of a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. However, we must realise that before this can ever happen, we must live up to our own responsibilities under the resolution that we proclaim to passionately support.
