AS usual, India is infuriated at China’s reference to India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir during Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent visit to Beijing.

In a Pakistan-China joint statement, China reiterated its stance that solution to issues, including that of the occupied Jammu and Kashmir, is essential to regional stability. China added that the Kashmir issue should be resolved on the basis of the relevant United Nations resolutions and ‘bilateral agreements’.

India jumped to its feet, as is its wont, describing occupied Jammu and Kashmir as its ‘internal matter’. India is free to repeat its claim on Kashmir, but the world does not believe India’s interpretation, or, should I say, distortion, of historical facts and events.

The people of Jammu and Kashmir believe that it is not a bilateral, but quadrilateral issue. Jammu and Kashmir as the area affected is the first party to the conflict. Therefore, it cannot be resolved through bilateral agreements made without the representation of Jammu and Kashmir as the primary party.

Since China also occupies a portion of Jammu and Kashmir territory, it should also be involved in any future negotiations rather than leaving the matter to the two nuclear-armed neighbours who have failed to make any progress over decades.

Quayyum Raja
Khuiratta, AJK

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2022