ISLAMABAD. April 12 (AsiaFreePress): Legal Forum for Kashmir (LFK), organized a webinar titled “Kashmir freedom struggle post-August 5, 2019 amid past lapses and future prospects: Finding a way forward” on Tuesday, April 12, 2022.
The panelists included Dr. Claude Rakisits, honorary Associate Professor at the Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy at the Australian National University; Prof. Dr Salma Malik, Professor at the Department of Strategic Studies, Quaid e Azam University Islamabad; Ms Sabah Aslam, Founder, and Executive Director, Islamabad Institute of Conflict Resolution (IICR).
While speaking to the panel, Dr. Claude Rakisits accentuated the urgency to resolve the lingering issue of the India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. He proposed a three-step plan for the resolution of the longstanding dispute. The first step is that an advisory opinion should be sought over Kashmir from the International Court of Justice. Secondly, India should be pressurized to reinstate the articles 370 & 35A which India has unilaterally revoked on August 5, 2019, and to remove the draconian laws like PSA and UAPA from the occupied territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The third step is to hold a referendum for the self-determination of Kashmiris as per the UN resolutions.
He further said that the border dispute between India and China has added new dimensions to the Kashmir conflict. The Chinese could contribute to pave a way for the resolution of the Kashmir issue through negotiations with India.
Prof. Dr. Salma Malik underscored that the issue of Kashmir should be resolved through trilateral dialogue which means dialogue between Pakistan, India, and Kashmir. She further said that the Kashmir issue is just not a nuclear flashpoint or a matter of territory. Rather it is a matter of people and their aspirations, as India, in violation of the human rights laws is perpetrating war crimes in occupied Jammu Kashmir.
She further added that much paperwork has been done on the issue without any implementation. Several dialogues and proposals in the past have died illogical death due to the lack of political will to resolve the Kashmir issue. She suggested that a trilogue shall be initiated with Kashmiris the main stakeholders given the due representation so as to pay heed and redress their grievances.
Ms Sabah Aslam asserted that the Kashmir issue should be resolved according to the will and aspirations of the Kashmiri people as per the UN Security Council Resolutions. She urged both the nations to come forward and take tangible steps by initiating a dialogue to resolve the protracted dispute. She also called upon Pakistan’s Foreign Office and the high commissions in capitals around the world to up the ante and adopt offensive diplomacy to appraise the world of Kashmiris’ sufferings.
