The Hindu : U.N. resolutions very much on table, says Pakistan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Nov 18, 2003

International

International - India & World

U.N. resolutions very much on table, says Pakistan

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD Nov. 17. Pakistan said today that it was ready to hold dialogue with India under the previous agreements such as Shimla/Lahore. At the same time, it said the United Nations Resolutions on Kashmir were very much on the table.

At his weekly news conference, the Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman, Masood Khan, questioned the characterisation of U.N. resolutions by the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in an interview to a Syrian daily on Kashmir as "old-ones."

"The U.N. resolutions are valid and operative and have a legal basis and reflect the will of the international community. India is using these dilatory tactics just to go into a denial that there is no dispute, they do not want to engage Pakistan (in talks)," Mr. Khan said.

He said the U.N. resolutions on Kashmir remain "valid, legal and operative" unless the world body comes out with a new resolution on the dispute. Mr. Khan said that India could hold a dialogue on the basis of the Shimla or Lahore agreement that provided for resolution of all differences on the basis of bilateral negotiations.

The spokesman alleged that while the President, Pervez Musharraf, had offered comprehensive talks with India and presented a roadmap, India was not ready for talks. The absence of a dialogue process between the two countries was leading to problems, particularly with the dissatisfied Kashmiri youth.In response to a question on Mr. Vajpayee's observation that the demographic nature of Kashmir had changed, the spokesman said that, "so many people have been killed since 1947, people have been made to run for their lives, and this is one way of changing the demographic composition." However, he hastened to add that this had not happened and it had not affected in any way the U.N. resolutions.

Mr. Khan said that there was a difference between the U.N. resolutions and the bilateral pacts between India and Pakistan. "The U.N. resolutions spell out a solution to the Kashmir whereas the Shimla accord and the Lahore declaration cater to the list of agenda items."

He said, that "we can start negotiations without being very theological and we know each other's position, but it is India which is not ready to negotiate." Mr. Khan accused India of using "toy bombs" against the civilian population living along the Line of Control.He said that it was against the Geneva Conventions adding the "senseless" practice had been going on for quite some time and should never target the non-combatants with deadly weapons.

On the coming SAARC Summit in Islamabad, Mr. Khan said that it would not be held if India did not attend. "According to the SAARC charter, the meeting could only be held if agreed to by all member states."

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U.N. resolutions very much on table, says Pakistan