August 24, 2008	Sunday	Sha'aban 21, 1429

LAHORE, Aug 23: The Kashmir Action Committee, Pakistan, has called upon Pakistan to approach India to allow it to send food and other goods to the Kashmir valley across the Line of Control (LoC) through Jhelum valley road because of the economic blockade by the Hindus of Jammu.

The demand was made in a resolution passed at a meeting of the executive committee of the KACP held here on Saturday. The resolution referred to the killings of Kashmiris by the Indian security forces and the protest marches by thousands of Kashmiris against the economic blockade and their slogans of Azadi and Pakistan Zindabad.

What is surprising is the callous indifference of the Indian government to the plight of the Kashmiris.

The resolution pointed out that these events demonstrated that the people of Kashmir had not reconciled to the idea of being a part of India.

Over the past six weeks when no food supplies of any sort are allowed to be brought to the valley from Jummu and no perishable fruit is allowed to be taken to Jummu, the Pakistan government has almost been a silent spectator.

All that rhetoric of opening the LoC for passage of goods from one side to the other is no longer heard.

The resolution said that Pakistan should have formally approached India to allow food and other necessities being sent across LoC through Jhelum valley road.

It said if Pakistani transport could not be allowed to go across the LoC, the supplies could be transferred on to Indian trucks at the LoC crossing point.

This will apart from providing relief to the beleaguered Kashmiris will be the biggest CBM which India has been insisting for the “sake of peace".

On the political front, the resolution said, the matter should have been raised in the UN and other world forums by Pakistan, but nothing was done probably because of the political flux at home. It was yet another failure of Pakistan to highlight the Kashmir issue.

The resolution reminded the All Parties Hurriyat Conference leaders of the KACP demand conveyed to them during their recent visit to Pakistan that they should not be misguided by the so-called composite dialogue process between India and Pakistan.

They should stick to their demand for the right of self-determination for the attainment of which hundreds and thousands of Kashmiris had laid their lives, it said.