Doublespeak yet again

Pakistan has done it again. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif raised the Kashmir issue at the UN General Assembly. There was no approbation from the international community to this predictable distortion of reality by Islamabad.

However, Sharif repeats the feat to communicate to his constituency back home. Pakistan makes an absurd claim that it is the primary victim of terrorism. This is nothing but devils quoting scriptures.

The world knows Pakistan is the breeding ground for international terrorists. Exporting terror has been the foreign policy of our hostile neighbour.

Perhaps, Pakistan makes such a ludicrous claim at UN to divert the world attention from its culpability. It’s true that there were terror strikes inside Pakistan too.

But, as India clarified to UN, Pakistan is a victim of its own policies of breeding and sponsoring terrorists. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif stated that Jammu &Kashmir is under foreign occupation. It’s a chosen amnesia to history.

The people of Kashmir valiantly fought the Pakistani intruders to accede to India. The Kashmir’s accession to India is complete and irreversible. Successive elections in the state have revealed the Kashmiri people’s loyalty to Indian sovereignty. The occupier in question is Pakistan.

Pakistani PM further claims that Kashmir is integral to dispute with India. But, the only unresolved and rather unfinished task is Pakistan vacating from the Indian territories occupied by it aka Pak Occupied Kashmir (POK).

Any reasonable resolution of outstanding issues is possible only in an atmosphere free from terrorism. But, Pakistan refuses to realise this basic obligation for any meaningful dialogue to move forward.

By raising a bilateral issue like Kashmir at a multilateral forum like UN, Pakistan continues to disregard the spirit of 1972 Simla agreement, the 2004 joint declaration for swearing terrorism, the recent understanding reached at Ufa.

Terrorism is Pakistan’s home grown problem that has begun to bite the hand that fed it. It’s in the interest of Pakistan not to be oblivious to this. Pakistan should understand its international obligations before casting aspersions on India.

It should shun the use of terrorism as a legitimate instrument of statecraft. The creators of this monster called terrorism should wake up to the dangers of what they have done to themselves and to their immediate neighbourhood and beyond.

Sharif said that the United Nations must continue to remain attentive to the issue of Jammu and Kashmir and full realisation of the right of self determination of its people.

This assertion on the part of Pakistan tantamounts to a blatant interference in the internal affairs of India. India had long back rejected the theory of self determination and a plebiscite.

India has also time and again made it clear that it is firmly against any international mediation including that of UN. The issue is bilateral and should be settled through bilateral negotiations only.

If the same theory of self-determination and plebiscite is extended to it, Pakistan will have to face balkanisation and dismemberment. India should continue its diplomatic offensive to expose the façade of Pakistan.

Editor: Prof K Nageshwar