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| 29 April 2005 | Friday | 19 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1426 |
Annan open to new role for UNMOGIP
NEW DELHI, April 28: UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said on Thursday that he was open to discussions with India and Pakistan on the role of UN military observers monitoring the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. “We are extremely pleased that India and Pakistan are making steady and truly remarkable progress in their bilateral dialogue,” Mr Annan told a news conference at the end of a three-day visit here. He said the UN presence was all part of these efforts.
Asked if it was worthwhile to continue with these observers at a time when India and Pakistan were successfully advancing their peace process, Mr Annan said: “Obviously, we need to discuss with parties concerned as the developments evolve on how we handle our presence and role of observers, what it should be.”
India has had an uneasy relationship with the United Nations Military Observers’ Group (UNMOGIP) since it was mandated to observe the ceasefire between the two countries in Kashmir in 1948.
Part of India’s difficulties with UNMOGIP lie in the reminder it ceaselessly if unwittingly gives of the Kashmir dispute as a pending issue before the world body.
In October 2001, tense ties between the two burst into the open when Major General Hermann K. Loidolt, then head of UNMOGIP, accused the two South Asian rivals of heightening regional tensions over Kashmir.
He said it was obvious there were “games both parties are playing with this tormented country”.
“Whatever the reason is for playing political games, may it be a diversionary manoeuvre on the Pakistani side to make India the real enemy instead of the US, or may it be the dawning of the next election in India, it will be an issue for the US to solve,” he said.
India responded with a withering rejoinder saying it was never one “to play games or indulge in diversionary tactics.”
“We see no need for obiter dicta (arbitration) in Kashmir from third parties as we have said in the past.
The issue of Kashmir can only be discussed by India and Pakistan, according to the Shimla Accord,” an Indian spokesperson had said.
The UNMOGIP has divided its time between Srinagar and Rawalpindi since 1951.
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