Kashmir.Watch

Category: World

  • Portugal’s Guterres appointed as next UN chief

    United Nations (United States) (AFP) – The UN General Assembly on Thursday appointed Antonio Guterres as the new secretary-general of the United Nations, in a shift towards a more high-profile leadership of the world body.

    The former prime minister of Portugal pledged to work as a “bridge-builder” and “honest broker” after the 193 member-states unanimously named him to be the world’s diplomat-in-chief beginning January 1.

    The socialist politician, who also served as UN refugee chief for a decade, is expected to play a more prominent role at the helm than Ban Ki-moon, the South Korean who will step down after two five-year terms.

    Guterres was greeted by loud applause as he entered the packed hall following the vote and told the assembly he was “fully aware of the challenges the UN faces and the limitations of the secretary-general.”

    “The dramatic problems of today’s complex world can only inspire a humble approach,” he said, adding that the UN chief “alone neither has all the answers, nor seeks to impose his views.”

    US President Barack Obama congratulated Guterres, saying in a statement that “he had the character, vision and skills needed to lead the United Nations at this critical moment.”

    Russian President Vladimir Putin telephoned Guterres from the Kremlin and wished him success “in this important and demanding position.”

    French President Francois Hollande said “the world more than ever needs a strong United Nations” and praised Guterres for his demonstrated ability to “set a course of action, show leadership and enact reforms.”

    – End divisions over Syria –

    The appointment of the 67-year-old polyglot comes at a time of global anxiety over the ongoing war in Syria, the refugee crisis and raging conflicts in South Sudan and Yemen.

    On Syria, the most pressing crisis on the UN agenda, Guterres said it was time for world powers to overcome divisions about ending the war, just as key players were gearing up for a new round of talks at the weekend.

    “Whatever divisions might exist, now it’s more important to unite,” Guterres told reporters after the vote. “It’s high time to fight for peace.”

    The United States and Russia will be joined by regional heavyweights for talks in Lausanne on Saturday, and Washington will then meet with its European partners on Sunday.

    The Security Council is deadlocked over Syria after two draft resolutions were defeated in separate votes — one of them vetoed by Damascus ally Russia.

    – Fighting terror groups and populists –

    Guterres, the first former head of government to become UN chief, called for determined action to confront terror groups and populists who “reinforce each other” in their extremism.

    “We must make sure that we are able to break these alliances between all those terrorist groups or violent extremists on one side, and the expression of populism and xenophobia on the other side,” he said.

    The remarks were apparently directed at European far-right politicians and also US presidential contender Donald Trump, whose anti-immigrant rhetoric has caused global concern.

    Citing Guterres’ political and UN experience, US Ambassador Samantha Power said he brings “both head and heart” to what has been described as the most impossible job in the world.

    “We have selected a candidate who is prepared to cut past the jargon and the acronyms, and the sterile briefings, and get real,” she said.

    “He knows the only measure of our work here is whether we are or are not helping and supporting real people.”

    Guterres last week won the unanimous backing from the Security Council to take the helm of the United Nations, capping a campaign that saw 13 candidates run for the top post including, for the first time, seven women.

    The incoming UN chief has pledged to make gender parity a priority of his reforms during his five-year term at the world body.

    Women currently only make up 25 percent of senior leadership posts at the United Nations and there had been calls during the campaign for the first woman to be elected secretary-general, after eight men in the job.

  • India’s decision to seal Pak border irrational: Chinese experts

    Beijing: India’s move to completely seal its border with Pakistan was a “very irrational decision” and would further complicate India-China relations considering Beijing’s “all-weather” strategic ties with Islamabad, a state media report today quoted leading experts as saying.
    “India is making a very irrational decision, since no exhaustive investigation has been conducted after the Uri incident, and no evidence proves Pakistan is behind the attack,” the Global Times quoted Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow from the official thinktank Institute of International Relations of the Shanghai Academy, as saying.

    Hu was commenting on Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s announcement on Friday that the 3,323-km-long border between India and Pakistan would be “completely sealed” by December 2018.
    A “completely sealed” border would further hinder the already scarce border trade and talks between the two countries, Hu said.
    Wang Dehua, director of the Institute for Southern and Central Asian Studies at the Shanghai Municipal Centre for International Studies, said that a sealed border would only disrupt peace efforts made by the two sides.

    “The country’s decision reflects its Cold War mentality, and would only cause deeper hatred among residents living in Indian- and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir,” Hu added.
    Since Pakistan is China’s “all-weather” strategic partner, India’s decision would make China-Pakistan-India relations more complicated, Hu said.
    But he said a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute is in the interest of China’s homeland security, especially its western regions.
    Their hardline comments come ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to India this week to take part in the BRICS Summit in Goa during which he would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
    This will be their second meeting in two months. The two met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou last month. Yesterday, China’s Vice Foreign Minister Li Baodong defended China’s “technical hold” in the UN on a ban on Masood Azhar, the head of Jaish-e-Muhammad.
    “China is opposed to all forms of terrorism. There should be no double standards on counter terrorism. Nor should one pursue own political gains in the name of counter terrorism,” he had said indirectly accusing India. PTI

  • Yasin Malik’s Wife Drafts Letter To United Nations Secretary General

    Original Text 

    To His Excellency,
    The Honorable,
    United Nations Secretary General,
    Mr Ban ki Moon,

    I, Mushaal Hussein Mullick, a victim of a divided Kashmiri Family fighting for our right to self Determination as per the United Nations Security Council Resolutions and wife of detained Kashmiri Freedom Fighter Mohammad Yasin Malik Chairman Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front request you to take notice of the current gross human rights violation taking place in Indian Administered Jammu and Kashmir .My small three year old daughter Raziyah Sultana and I have not seen  Yasin Malik for the past two years because India is not issuing us a visa because me and my daughter hold a Pakistani passport. My husband living in Indian held Jammu and Kashmir has been denied a passport by Indian state Authorities for the past three and a half years. We desperately want this long separation between our divided family to end.
    My Husband Mohammad Yasin Malik has been languishing in Prisons in Srinagar since 9th July 2016 after the killing of Kashmiri poster boy Burhan Wani. His life is at critical risk for the past few weeks after being shifted to Joint Interrogation Centre HumHuma in Srinagar.
    Yasin who has been put into a solitary confinement in extremely shabby conditions at Humhama, has grown very weak, lost over 15 Kilos and last week he was taken to Khyber hospital Srinagar in Army custody where his medical tests results came dangerously alarming. His personal doctor Sajad Reshi Cardiologist examined him and advised many medical checkups regarding his heart, kidney and other ailments. Yasin Malik’s kidney stone has enlarged risking his kidney function severely. Medical tests regarding his heart ailment are also unsatisfactory as he has a metallic valve in his heart which requires a lifesaving drug on a daily basis but is not being given to him on a daily basis, thus risking his life from blood clotting. The doctors at the hospital termed his overall health condition at high risk and urged the Indian State to shift him to a ICU at the Hospital urgently to monitor his heart valve functioning at a 24 hours basis. He has been advised many medicines and also to follow up his medical tests after one week. Unfortunately, after medical examinations he was again shifted to Joint Interrogation Centre Humhama cell.
    I urge you to put pressure on the Indian State to release Yasin Malik and shift him to the hospital immediately otherwise there is no guarantee of survival for his life. Let me add further that Yasin Malik is not a terrorist but a Political prisoner and a Prisoner of Conscience. Every human life is precious and as per the Universal Human Rights Charter every religion, every human being has right to Self Determination. This is the power truth. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. This is stated in the 1st article of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights .All Faiths declare the unity of human beings and freedom for all.
    As we all know, The Kashmir dispute is the oldest unresolved international conflict in the world today. Pakistan considers Kashmir as its core political dispute with India. So, does the international community, except India.
    The freedom movement of Kashmiris is rooted in the struggle of the people for the exercise of the right of self-determination. Peaceful processions chanting demands for freedom are fired upon by Indian Army and police pellets and bullets. Thousands and thousands of innocent men, women and children have been killed or wounded.
    Our message is loud and clear that the people of Kashmir demand what was pledged to them by the United Nations and guaranteed by the Security Council, the right to self-determination.
    Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Suraj who has recently delivered sermons of morality and humanism at UN General Assembly must introspect her own Country’s behavior towards a tiny nation of Jammu and Kashmir. If one compares the killings and atrocities committed during World War 2, Jammu and Kashmir falls number second in comparison of the tyranny and brutality. Kashmir is and was not any nation’s integral part but a disputed territory whose inhabitants are striving for their birth right as per UNSCRs.
    I urge you, as the icon of peace Mr Ban ki-Moon and as the United Nations Secretary General  to use your good office to take notice of the Indian state-sponsored violence in Kashmir and prevail upon the Indian authorities to immediately cease all such actions that violate the human rights, dignities and fundamental entitlements of the Kashmiri people. Because the United Nations is not only the guarantor of fundamental human rights of peoples anywhere in the world, but is also responsible for taking pro-active measures to ensure peace in regions prone to conflict such as the South Asian region.
    Every girl be it a girl of war or conflict dreams of a fairytale no matter what day and age or what era she’s born in or what battle she’s fighting for. A fairytale world, a prince in shining armor who sweeps her off her feet, a fairytale wedding, an empowered identity, security , stability, safety , protection and so much more. Human beings around the world deserve the basic fundamental rights to freedom, honor and dignity. Unfortunately, these basic requirements are a pipe dream for people of conflicts and war zones and in this particular case the Kashmiri women our on debate.
    Just imagine a woman who is a wife and a widow at the same time, she does not know, where her spouse is, is he dead or alive, would he ever return home or not? Now a mother, who continuously hopes to hear the footsteps of her son, is stuck in a life of a shuttle cock between hope and fear. A child who is unable to decide if he or she is fatherless or not yet an orphan, with curious eyes constantly glued to the door and a sister watching outside from her window with never-ending tears in search of her missing brother. These people in Indian Held Jammu and Kashmir sadly, have extraordinary titles as they face extraordinary challenges. These are the half widows, half mothers, half fathers, half orphans and half siblings of the society. There is little left to say from them except to keep on searching for the traces of their loved ones who have entirely vanished or become invisible from the face of earth.
    The 21st century is a violent time. September 11th sparked protracted wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Conflict prevails in Sudan, Mali democratic republic of Congo. uprisings shape the landscape in Libya, Yemen, Egypt and Syria. In short the world is in turmoil.9’11 has proven to the world that this globe is a global village. If one area of the world is hit by terrorism, the whole world is signaled unsafe. In order to make this world a safer place all outstanding conflicts around the world, particularly Kashmir and Palestine must be resolved on table with the oppressors and the oppressed through international pressure. The demand for Global economies, global peace, global ties depends on how strong the counter terrorism and conflict resolutions policies are.
    The global involvement in Kashmir will not only end the bloodshed and suffering in Kashmir, but also will have a direct positive effect on international security by eliminating regional fighting, national tensions, and the risk of a nuclear war between India and Pakistan.  It is in everyone’s interest to settle the Kashmir conflict peacefully without further delay.
    Peace in the region would remain elusive without the resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with UN resolutions that call for a free and fair election to determine the wishes of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
    I, as the rest of you would wish to make this world a better place to live in, where our children, babies, future generations, our three year old daughter Raziyah Sultana who has unfortunately been a victim of Indian Army’s brutality and who doesn’t have the privilege of living with both her parents under the same roof  in her homeland Kashmir , breath an air of freedom and tranquility. Where curfews do not restrict children from going to schools, where children do not lose their innocence, where children our not left homeless, orphaned or without the love and compassion of their parents.

    Hoping for your early and positive reply. Writing to you, this painful letter with a lot hope attached in this hour of helplessness and immense psychological stress. Please do not let the hope die in humanity.
    Regards,

    Mushaal Hussein Mullick

  • Killing of young Junaid in Kashmir ‘worst form of state terrorism’: Pakistan

    Srinagar: Pakistan on Sunday “strongly condemned” the killing of a 12-year-old boy in Srinagar while seeking the help of the international community to end the “culture of impunity” in Kashmir.
    While offering condolences to the family of Junaid Ahmad, a Foreign Office spokesperson said the “murder” of Junaid Ahmad was a “worst form of state terrorism”.

    Junaid was hit by pellets by pellets in his head and chest on Friday evening when clashes were going on between protesters and government forces in Eidgah area of Srinagar.
    His family members alleged that forces barged into their house and fired pellets on Junaid in their lawn.
    Urging the international community to intervene, the spokesman said that the “culture of impunity must end now” in Kashmir.

  • No chance of breakthrough in ties with India under Modi: Aziz

    Islamabad: Pakistan sees no hope of a breakthrough in relations with India under the Narendra Modi government, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz has said, accusing India of adopting a “hegemonistic attitude”.
    “Pakistan had been resisting the Indian hegemonistic attitude in the region and had been calling for the promotion of bilateral ties on equal basis,” Aziz said.

    “There is no hope for a breakthrough in relations with India under Modi for a breakthrough in relations with India under its current Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) quoted Aziz saying in TV interview.
    Aziz said the joint session of the parliament yesterday had unanimously adopted a resolution that encompassed all issues, including the condemnation of “Indian brutalities” in Kashmir, ceasefire violations, condemnation of Indian threat to revoke Indus Waters Treaty and Indian intervention in Balochistan.
    The adviser said the focal point of all these efforts was to show the world that entire Pakistan was united to condemn Indian brutalities in Kashmir and extend moral, diplomatic and political support to Kashmiri people.

    Aziz said during interactions at various platforms across the globe the majority viewed that the dialogue should resume between the two states.
    He said there was no harm in sealing the Pak-India border as planned by India, if the points of public movement and trade were maintained.

  • All Communication Channels Between Indo-Pak Militaries Are Open

    Srinagar: All communication channels between the Indian and Pakistani militaries remain open in wake of tensions that have gripped the South Asian nations over Kashmir, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Asim Bajwa has said.

    Stressing the need for resolving issues through dialogue, Bajwa confirmed that the Director Generals of the Military Operations (DGMOs) from both sides have communicated after escalation in cross-border firing at the Line of Control (LoC).

    “All communication channels including the hotline between the two militaries are open,” he told a international wire news agency in an exclusive interview.

    He said Pakistan wants peaceful neighbourly relations with all countries in the region “and that is the policy of the state of Pakistan and that is the policy of the political government and every element of power in the country follows the same policy”.

    Bajwa reiterated that India “violated” the ceasefire along the LoC on Sept 29 and later claimed to have conducted “surgical strikes along LoC”.

    “We did check everything on ground and we found the claim was absolutely false.”

  • US wants India, Pakistan to resolve Kashmir issue

    Washington: Amid the current tensions between India and Pakistan, the US has called on India and Pakistan to resolve Kashmir dispute through a meaningful dialogue.

    “…On the Kashmir issue, our position has not changed. We want this to be worked out between both sides, the issue of Kashmir,” US State Department spokesperson John Kirby said in the daily press briefing here on Thursday.

    “And generally, generally speaking, I mean, we obviously want to see the tensions that exist right now be brought down and for dialogue to take its place — meaningful dialogue to try to address these issues bilaterally between the countries,” he said.
    The State Department’s comments came as India-Pakistan relations dipped to a new low in recent times with cross-border terror attacks and the Indian Army’s surgical strikes at terror “launch pads” across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.

  • US says does not support declaring Pak a ‘terrorist state’

    Washington: The US today said it does not support declaring Pakistan a ‘terrorist state’ but will continue to work with the governments in the region to eliminate safe havens which also pose a threat to India.
    The US also called for a “meaningful dialogue” between India and Pakistan to address differences including the Kashmir issue and to bring down the recent tensions.
    State Department spokesperson John Kirby, however, expressed confidence that Pakistan has kept nuclear arsenals safe from terrorists.
    Asked if the government would support a bill in the Congress and an online petition that the US should declare Pakistan a ‘terrorist state’, Kirby at his daily press briefing said: “I have not seen anything specifically about the such a bill, and obviously we don’t.”
    He, however, said he would not comment on “whatever pending legislation may be coming in that regard”. “What we what I would say is common threat, common challenge in the region, and we’re going to continue to work with Pakistan, with Afghanistan, and the Secretary (of State) just came back from Brussels and the Afghanistan conference in Brussels. And obviously it’s a threat to the Indian people as well.
    “So we’re going to continue to work with the governments in the region to try to address these common threats and challenges, and we’ve always said that more can be done about the safe havens and that’s we’re going to, again, try to work as cooperatively as we can to that end,” Kirby said. PTI

  • Pakistan army chief urges international community to condemn Indian fabrications

    He said while Pakistan wants good relations with its neighbors, “no one should make any mistakes about our collective resolve to defend our motherland”

    Pakistan Army chief Raheel Sharif on Thursday called on the international community to condemn Indian insinuation and fabrications against Pakistan and said that any aggression by the country’s enemy would be met with a befitting response.
    “We have recently witnessed an unfortunate display of utter desperation playing out inside (occupied Kashmir) and along Line of Control through a litany of falsehoods and distortion of facts by India,” the army chief said, while addressing the passing-out parade of Pakistab Air Force cadets in Risalpur, Rawalpindi.
    “We expect international community to condemn Indian insinuations and fabrications about a nation that has made unparallel contributions in the global fight against terrorism,” Gen. Sharif added, according to a Inter Services Public Relations statement.
    He said while Pakistan wants good relations with its neighbors, “no one should make any mistakes about our collective resolve to defend our motherland”.
    The army chief was referring to India last week saying that its army had carried out “surgical strikes” on terrorist launch pads across the Line of Control in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
    Pakistan has denied the claim and said it was only a case of cross-border firing in which two of its soldiers were killed.
    Sharif said any aggression “will not be allowed to go unpunished and will be met with the most befitting response. We will be highly relentless in defending our motherland against entire spectrum of threat”.
    On the fight against terrorism, the army chief said they had “achieved phenomenal success in uprooting the terrorist infrastructure from our soil”, and were engaged in eliminating the residual threat “in the form of facilitators and their sympathizers” across the country.
    “Their nefarious designs will not be allowed to succeed at any cost. Resolute efforts to consolidate our gains is the only way forward, for which we will not leave any stone unturned,” he said, according to ISPR.  IANS

  • Pigeon found with ‘threatening’ message may soon be set free

    The grey-coloured avian, which apparently came from across the border a few days back, continues to remain in police custody in Pathankot.

    A pigeon that was detained after it was found carrying a threatening note written in Urdu to Prime Minister Narendra Modi may be soon set free as there was “no point” keeping it in custody, police said today.
    The grey-coloured avian, which apparently came from across the border a few days back, continues to remain in police custody in Pathankot.

    “The pigeon is still with us,” a police official posted in Pathankot said today.
    “It shall be set free in the jungle area here and a decision in this regard will be taken in a day or two,” he said.
    The official said there was “no point” in keeping the bird in custody.

    On October 2, the pigeon was found by Border Security Force (BSF) personnel at Simbal post in Bamial sector in Pathankot.
    A letter tied to its legs carried a message in Urdu which was translated as, “Modi, do not consider us same people as were during 1971 (Indo-Pak war). Now each and every child is ready to fight against India.”
    Amid tensions between India and Pakistan following surgical strikes by the Army in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Punjab’s border areas have been reporting instances of “threatening messages”, purportedly from across the border, either through birds or balloons.
    Meanwhile, a white pigeon that was found in Hoshiarpur district last month will be sent to a veterinary university in Ludhiana for a “thorough” check-up before a decision is taken on its fate.
    “The pigeon will be sent to Ludhiana for its complete check-up to rule out anything suspicious,” Hoshiarpur Deputy Superintendent of Police (Mukerian) Bhupinder Singh said today.
    The bird, which apparently came from Pakistan, was found with “some words written in Urdu” by a resident of Motla village at Mukerian in Hoshiarpur on September 22.
    A Pakistani mobile number and “days” in Urdu were stamped on the bird’s wings.
    Police said that when contact was established on the phone number, a person living across the border admitted that it was his bird which had flown off. Nothing suspicious has been found so far from the bird.
    “After thorough check up, the bird may be sent to the zoo,” the police official said.
    On October 1, two balloons with messages written in Urdu and addressed
    to Prime Minister Modi were found at Ghesal village in Dinanagar of Gurdaspur, which had witnessed an attack last year. PTI