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| New Delhi asserts, says J&K integral part of India | | UNMOGIP must be asked to vacate India | | Neha
Jammu, July 9: Narendra Modi took over as Prime Minister of India on May 26. Ever since then, New Delhi has been asserting that its policy towards Jammu and Kashmir would be different and that it would tackle the issues facing the state through development. This roadmap was enunciated by the Prime Minister during his visit to the state on July 4. During the visit, he didn't announce any economic or employment package. Not did he say that his doors were open for talks with Kashmiri separatists. But more than that, he didn't have a one-on-one meeting with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah whose stand on the state is that it is a political issue that needed to be tackled politically.
Not just this, he met with top Army officials at Srinagar to discuss the security-related issues but Omar Abdullah was conspicuous by his absence. Besides, the PM talked for the whole of the state and its people, especially youth. All these marked a major shift in the New Delhi's policy vis-a-vis Jammu and Kashmir something that didn't go well with Kashmiri separatists or even some "mainstream" Kashmiri leaders, who described Narendra Modi's visit as incomplete and meaningless.
On Tuesday, the Modi Government took a more substantial step to tell the international community that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of the country and the United Nations Military Observer Group in Jammu and Kashmir should vacate the Government-provided bungalow in New Delhi. "We have said that as far as we are concerned the UNMOGIP has outlived its relevance. This is a consistent stance that we have articulated on several occasions," Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin told reporters after the Indian Express reported the notice given to the UN group to leave the Delhi premises. The argument of New Delhi had been that the UN has little role to play after India and Pakistan signed the Shimla Pact in 1972 under which the two countries agreed to resolve all disputes including Kashmir bilaterally. Pakistan has, on the other hand, repeatedly called for third-party mediation to settle the dispute in Kashmir on its own terms. In other words, it considers PoJK and Gilgit-Baltistan its personal estate and terms this part of Jammu and Kashmir as a disputed region.
It was clear from what the Indian Foreign Office said that New Delhi was against external involvement in the region, including the UN Military Observers Group on India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) that was set up in 1949 after their first war in 1947-1948. The UN mission has its main offices at Srinagar on the Indian side and in the Pakistani capital Islamabad as part of a UN Security Council resolution to supervise the ceasefire in the divided region. The presence of UN observers in Srinagar has only helped the Kashmiri separatists and in no way helped New Delhi. Similarly, the military authorities of Pakistan have continued to lodge complaints with UNMOGIP about ceasefire violations in Jammu and Kashmir. As for India, the military authorities have never lodged any complaints with UNMOGIP since January 1972 and have restricted the activities of the U.N. observers on the Indian side of the Line of Control. They have, however, been providing accommodation, transport and other facilities to the otherwise unwanted observers.
However, the suggestion that UNMOGIP should vacate the Government-provided building in Delhi is not enough. It should ask the mission to bind up and leave India. This will send the right message to the hostile nations as well as Kashmiri leaders of all hues. |
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