Pakistan Again Calls for UN Observers on LoC Dividing Kashmir
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Pakistan wants UN observers deployed along the LoC |
By Asif Farooqi, IOL Correspondent
ISLSMABAD, July 29 (IslamOnline) - To address Indian government’s apprehensions regarding the stoppage of cross border infiltration of Pakistan backed Islamic radicals into the Indian Kashmir; Pakistan has once again proposed, on Monday, July, 29,2002, deploying United Nations observers to monitor the Line of Control (LoC) where this alleged cross border movement takes place.
“Truth can only be verified by going and physically inspecting the
Line of Control and if deployed UN observers can see by themselves
whether Pakistani claims in this regard are correct”, Aziz Ahmed Khan
told a news conference in Islamabad Monday JULY 29.
Pakistani proposal of deployment of the UN military observers was
floated anew following the visit of U.S. Secretary of Stat Colin Powell
who disputed the Pakistani claim, during a weekend visit to this
country, that the movement of the Islamic militants from Pakistan to
India had completely stopped.
In fact Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has been able to find no
supporters of this claim in the international community. The Foreign
Policy chief of the EU states, Javier Solana only last week during a
visit to South Asia agreed to the Indian assertion that the cross
border infiltration was still going on, though slowed.
Jack Straw, the British Foreign Secretary was also quoted as telling
the Pakistani leadership during a visit earlier this month that
Pakistan needed to do more to stop the cross border infiltration. .
And lastly Colin Powell during a weekend visit refused to budge to
the clear Pakistani claim that no Pakistan based militants were
crossing over to India. "We still are not able to say that they have
been stopped, although they have gone down,” Powell told a news
conference in Islamabad Sunday July 28.
“Only the UN observers can verify whether the Indian allegations that
the infiltration was still going on, are baseless” Pakistani
spokesman said to a question.
India has refused to talk to Pakistan, despite direct pressure from
the U.S.; till such time that the infiltration of the Pakistan-backed
militants comes to a complete stop. Indian alleges that these Islamic
militants were the cause of a 13-year-old bloody freedom struggles in
its part of divided Kashmir.
Pakistani President on the other hand has said very firmly that he
was able to stop these militants from crossing over to India
following a massive crackdown on the religious militants in the
country.
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