NEW YORK, Feb 27: A two-day international conference on Kashmir here ended on a discordant note when it adopted a declaration that does not mention United Nations resolutions as the basis for settling the dispute.
Many delegates objected to the adoption of a declaration which does not mention UN Security Council resolutions as a basis for the settlement of the Kashmir dispute.
The declaration, apparently watered down to appease a few Indian delegates who attended the conference, emphasized the inclusion of Kashmiri people in the process for a settlement, but it does not recommend any specific framework to accomplish the objective.
Following objections from the delegates, conference organizers immediately convened a meeting of the drafting panel, comprising Senate's foreign relations committee chairman Mushahid Hussain, The Times of India consulting editor Dileep Padgoankar, Kashmiri pandit Vijay Sazawawal, Barrister Majid Tramboo and KAC's executive director Ghulam Nabi Fai.
Sources said that the two Indians on the panel - Padgoankar and Vijay - vehemently opposed demands to include the UN resolutions on Kashmir in the text unless a reference was also made to the so-called 'cross-border terrorism' in Kashmir.
After half-hour negotiations the panel unanimously agreed on a compromised text. The declaration now calls for "fair and lasting settlement of the Kashmir issue according to the wishes and aspirations of 14 million people of Jammu and Kashmir", without mentioning UN resolutions.
The final declaration asserted that there could be no solution, 'negotiated or otherwise', to the Jammu and Kashmir issue without the 'active and full' participation of Kashmiris living on both sides of the Line of Control as also Jammu and Kashmiri diaspora.
The declaration expressed 'grave concern' over 'continued violations' of human rights by both 'state and non-state actors' - a reference to militants in the state - and urged all stake holders to "ensure that human rights are upheld in full measure".
PANEL: Earlier, Mushahid Hussain proposed setting up a panel of eminent persons in order to resolve the Kashmir dispute which continues to undermine the normalization of relations between Pakistan and India.
Participating in the roundtable discussions, he suggested that personalities like Nelson Mandela, Mahatir Mohammad and Bill Clinton be involved in pushing the process forward. In his observations Senator Hussain said that it was time for the Indian army to start talks with leaders of the liberation movement in Kashmir, like Hizbul Mujahideen.
