Sardar Mohammad Abdul Qayyum Khan, Chairman of National Kashmir Committee (NKC), accompanied by Dr Attiya Inayatullah and Gohar Ayub Khan, members of the committee, on Thursday called on the UN Secretary-General and handed him over a letter on behalf of the committee, drawing his attention to the UN SC Resolution 1172 passed on June 8, 1998.
The letter, a copy of which was released to the press, read as under:
“On behalf of the National Kashmir Committee convened to mobilize support for the inalienable right of self-determination for the people of the State of Jammu and Kashmir, I wish to extend a warm welcome to you for travelling to South Asia with the purpose to defuse tension that has arisen due to India’s mobilization of its armed forces on the borders with Pakistan, the Working Boundary and on the Line of Control.
“As you are aware, the UN has a special responsibility not only to defuse tensions but also to settle peacefully the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmir people as enshrined in different UN SC Resolutions.
“Here, I would also like to draw your attention to the Resolution 1172 of the United Nations Security Council passed on June 8, 1998, which stated the following:
“‘Also urge India and Pakistan to resume the dialogue between them on all outstanding issues, particularly all matters pertaining to peace and security in order to remove the tensions between them and to encourage them to find mutually acceptable solution that addressed the root causes of those tensions, including Kashmir.’”
“We were heartened by your statement of January 18, 2002, in which you made it clear that: ‘The war against terrorism cannot be at the expense of human rights’ and that ‘human rights, democracy and social justice are the best antidote to terrorism.’
“While we appreciate your efforts for de-escalating tension between India and Pakistan and promoting resumption of dialogue between two nuclear armed neighbours, I would like this opportunity to remind you that the issue of peace and security for the one-fifth of humanity which resides in South Asia is inextricably linked with resolution of the root cause of all tension, the un-resolved dispute of Jammu and Kashmir.