EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Committee on Foreign Affairs
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Committee on Foreign Affairs Brussels, 27 July 2004 REPORT OF AD HOC DELEGATION VISITS TO KASHMIR (8-11 DECEMBER 2003 AND 20-24 JUNE 2004) Introduction As part of the European Parliament's contribution to helping shape EU policy on the Kashmir issue, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy decided to send a delegation to both parts of Kashmir, and to the respective national capitals of Pakistan and India. The delegation's objective was to meet with a wide spectrum of political and public opinion, to learn their views on current developments and hopes for the future, and to see the situation on the ground at first- hand. For timetabling and logistical reasons, it was decided that the visit to the two sides (Islamabad and Pakistan-administered Kashmir (known as Azaad Jammu and Kashmir - AJK - on the Pakistan side) -, and to New Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir - Indian- administered Kashmir, would have to take place separately. The first visit took place from 8-11 December 2003; the second, originally planned for the spring of 2004 was delayed because of the elections which were unexpectedly called in India, and finally took place from 20-25 June 2004. It was stressed throughout the preparatory phases that the two delegation visits should be undertaken by the same Members - which, with one exception, was the case - and that the two visits should aim to follow similar programmes in order to ensure continuity and for a balanced comparison to be made. The delegation was led by John Walls Cushnahan, and in December 2003 included Bob van den Bos, David Bowe, Glyn Ford, Jas Gawronski, Reinhold Messner and Luisa Morgantini. In June 2004, Mr Per Gahrton replaced Mr Messner, who had left the EP earlier this year. Mr Gawronski was unable to participate. The report before you is divided into four parts: I. a brief history of the Kashmir conflict II. a summary of recent events III a brief account of the two visits made by the EP's delegations IV. a separate list of recommendations emerging from the visits. Ad Hoc Delegation Report_KashmirEN.doc 1 I. A Brief History of the Conflict 1. Kashmir is an amalgamation of five regions: Jammu, Ladakh, Baltisan, Gilgit and the Kashmir Valley. Each region has a culture and population made up of Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists, with a total population of approximately 12m. Even before India and Pakistan became independent from Britain in August 1947, the territory of Kashmir had already been greatly contested. In the period between 1947 and 1972 Pakistan fought three wars with Kashmir as the main battleground. Ever since then, Kashmir has been divided up, with India and Pakistan occupying most of it and China a small portion. Both India and Pakistan claim all of it to be rightly theirs. 2. In 1947, under the partition plan provided by the India Independence Act of 1947, Kashmir was free to accede to India or Pakistan. The Maharajah of Kashmir, Hari Singh, who was a Hindu, while most of his subjects were Muslim, wanted to stay independent. His hopes of remaining neutral were dashed in October 1947 when Pakistan sent in Muslim tribesmen; Hari Singh appealed to the Indian government. He eventually decided to accede to India in return for military aid and a promised referendum. However, the whole question of exactly when and how the Instrument of Accession was signed remains a hotly debated subject among historians and people on both sides of the divide. India and Pakistan thus fought their first war over Kashmir in 1947-48. India referred the dispute to the United Nations on 1 January 1948. A cease-fire line was established, and, it was agreed, a "free and fair" plebiscite would be held to allow the Kashmir people to decide their future. 3. In May 1948, the regular Pakistani army was called upon to protect Pakistan's borders. Fighting continued throughout the year between Pakistani irregular troops and the Indian army. 4. Finally on 1 January 1949, a new cease-fire was agreed with 65% of territory under Indian control, and the rest with Pakistan. Both India and Pakistan were to adhere to their commitment to hold a referendum in the state. A UN peacekeeping force - UNMOGIP - (United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan) was established. The referendum, however, has never been held. 5. In 1957, Kashmir was formally incorporated into the Indian Union. It was granted a special status under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. Since that time, India has regarded that part of the state which it controls as an integral part of the Indian union. 6. To the west of the cease-fire line, Pakistan controls roughly one third of the state. A small region, which Pakistan calls Azad (Free) Jammu and Kashmir, and the Indians Ad Hoc Delegation Report_KashmirEN.doc 2 call Pakistani-occupied Kashmir (POK), is semi-autonomous. The larger area, which includes the former kingdoms of Hunza and Nagar, called the northern areas, is directly administered by Pakistan. 7. In 1962-63, following the 1962 Sino-Indian war, India and Pakistan held talks under the auspices of Britain and the US, in an attempt to resolve their differences over Kashmir, but without success. The two countries went to war again in August 1965. After three weeks, both India and Pakistan agreed to a UN-sponsored cease-fire. 8. In January 1966, the two governments met at Tashkent and signed a declaration affirming their commitment to solving the dispute through peaceful means. They also agreed to withdraw to their pre-August positions. 9. By 1971, India-Pakistan relations had deteriorated significantly once again when civil war erupted in Pakistan, pitting the West Pakistan army against East Pakistanis demanding autonomy and, later, independence. As a result of the fighting, around 10m East Pakistanis fled to India. In December 1971, India declared war. It invaded East Pakistan in support of the East Pakistani people; the Pakistan Army surrendered at Dhaka, its 90,000-strong army becoming Indian prisoners of war. East Pakistan became the independent country of Bangladesh on 6 December 1971. 10. Regional tensions were reduced by the Simla Agreement of 1972: this committed both sides to working to resolve outstanding issues bilaterally. Regarding Jammu and Kashmir, India and Pakistan agreed that the cease-fire line - renamed the 'Line of Control' (LOC) - would be recognised by both sides "without prejudice to the recognised positions of either side". 11. In 1974, the Kashmir state government reached an accord with the Indian government affirming its status as "a constituent unit of the union of India". Pakistan rejected the accord. 12. Armed resistance to Indian rule broke out in Kashmir in 1989, some groups calling for independence for the state of Jammu and Kashmir, others for union with Pakistan. Pakistan gave its "moral and diplomatic" support to the movement, calling for the issue to be resolved via a UN-sponsored referendum. The government of India, for its part, maintained that Pakistan was supporting the insurgency by training militants and supplying weapons. Contrary to its earlier (1948) position, when it was in favour of a plebiscite, India was now totally against attempts at UN or third-party mediation. Militants and political activists claimed that Ad Hoc Delegation Report_KashmirEN.doc 3 they had never been able to exercise the right of self-determination, and the issue of a plebiscite was raised once again. India claimed that the Simla Agreement of 1972 negated the earlier need for a UN- sponsored referendum or plebiscite. However, there was a split between those demanding a plebiscite to determine allegiance to either India or Pakistan and those who stated that a third option should be added: independence. To defuse the worsening tensions between them, India and Pakistan set up low-level meetings. In 1997, the celebrations in both countries of 50 years of independence were accompanied by a surge in diplomatic activity. The Indian and Pakistan Foreign Ministers met in Delhi; a second round of talks followed in Islamabad and an eight-point agenda for peace talks, including the Kashmir issue, was announced. 13. In 1998, both sides conducted nuclear tests and were heavily criticised by the international community as fears of a nuclear confrontation grew. The US and several other countries ordered sanctions against or withheld aid loans to both countries. 14. Relations between the two countries improved again in February 1999 with the visit of the Indian Prime Minister, Atal Vajpayee, to Pakistan to meet Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The result was the Lahore Accord, pledging again that the two sides would "intensify their efforts to resolve all issues, including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir". 15. However, in May 1999, conflict again erupted. India claimed Pakistan-backed forces had infiltrated into the mountains in Indian-administered Kashmir, north of Kargil. India responsed by using its Armed forces. Pakistan itself insisted that the forces were "'freedom fighters" fighting for the liberation of India-administered Jammu and Kashmir. The Red Cross reported that at least 30,000 people had been forced to flee their homes on the Pakistan side of the LOC; reports said that about 20,000 people had become refugees on the Indian side. Both sides claimed victory and the conflict finally ended when Pakistan Prime Minister Sharif called upon the infiltrating forces to withdraw. 16. In October 1999, General Pervez Musharraf led a military coup in Pakistan and assumed power. This was later validated for a period of three years by Pakistan's Supreme Court but was widely condemned by the international community which called for elections and a civilian government; Pakistan was also suspended from the Commonwealth.