'The Kashmir dispute has the potential to create an Indo-Pak catastrophe.'

            WASHINGTON: Masood Khan, Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, has cautioned that heightened tensions between India and Pakistan over the Jammu and Kashmir dispute could lead to another catastrophe while the world community deals with crises like the Russia-Ukraine war.

 

He stated in an interview with Newsweek that while New Delhi's action continued to cause tension between two nuclear-armed countries, the international community had shown a "dangerous indifference" to the matter. The interview was timed to coincide with the third anniversary of India's revocation of Articles 370 and 35A, which repealed the special status of the Indian-occupied portion of the disputed Kashmir region.

 

"The United States or other permanent members of the UN Security Council have not been able to dedicate much attention to Kashmir because of many developments in the international domain, for example, Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific region," Ambassador Khan was quoted as saying. Therefore, he explained, "there is this ongoing period of inattention, which turns Kashmir into a blind spot for the international community."

 

This is dangerous since Kashmir is situated in a highly sensitive area and Pakistan, India, and China are three nuclear powers that are close by. The Pakistani envoy was interviewed by Newsweek journalist Tim O'Connor, who wrote, "The fate of Kashmir”.

 

The first major conflict between India and Pakistan was sparked by Kashmir and its predominantly Muslim population ruled by a Hindu ruler. The two countries would go on to fight three additional wars and have continued to clash in recent years, with a tense, infrequent ceasefire only being reached in February of last year.

 

The report also quotes Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, who said, "China's position is clear and consistent," on the third anniversary of India's annexation of Jammu and Kashmir. According to Hua, the Kashmir dispute stems from earlier hostilities between India and Pakistan. This is also the consensus opinion of the world community. The parties involved must practise moderation and wisdom, we said at the time. Particularly, the parties have to refrain from taking acts that abruptly alter the status quo or worsen hostilities, she advised.

 

We urge both India and Pakistan to settle the conflict amicably via consultation and negotiation, she continued. The newspaper noted that Friday's anniversary garnered some worldwide interest in other places as well. In a statement, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) denounced India for its "illegal and unilateral steps conducted in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, which were followed by subsequent unlawful measures, including illegal demographic alterations." It said, "Such illegal measures cannot change the disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir or impair the fundamental right of the Kashmiri people to self-determination.