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March 18, 2000

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Border firing, propaganda increases on eve of Clinton's visit

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Josy Joseph in New Delhi

Firing across the Indo-Pakistan in Kashmir intensified on the eve of US President Bill Clinton's visit and Pakistan stepped up its propaganda.

There has been heavy shelling all over the LoC by Pakistan, Indian army sources said. According to them, several civilian buildings in the Uri sector have been damaged in shelling in the last few days. Indian army officials admitted they were responding "adequately".

And in a statement issued last evening in Washington, the Pakistan embassy termed Kashmir a nuclear flashpoint.

Defence Minister George Fernandes on Friday told CNN that he is in possession of intelligence inputs showing that the Pakistan army has cancelled Id leave for soldiers posted along LoC. The Indian army, which is on high alert, has also imposed some restrictions on leave for soldiers posted along the LoC.

He said that there was considerable activity by the Pakistan army on the northern sector, including digging of bunkers, and other construction activity.

"It needs no emphasis that the situation along the 740-km LoC and the 110-km Siachen glacier is very tense," Fernandes said.

The firing from across Uri began on Thursday night and continued for hours. In the last few days, there have been several civilian casualties, which has heightened tension along the LoC, army sources said.

As the tension mounted along LoC the Pakistan embassy in Washington issued a statement, 'Embassy of Pakistan Backgrounder on Kashmir for President Clinton's Visit to South Asia', where it called Kashmir a "disputed territory" at "nuclear flashpoint".

The statement claims, "Neither the United States nor the United Nations recognizes Indian sovereignty over Kashmir. They consider it a disputed territory.

"Pakistan contends that Kashmir was stolen from Pakistan in an unfair 1947 treaty, concluded as the two nations gained independence from British Colonial rule. Pakistan maintains that Kashmir's status must be resolved by plebiscite under United Nations supervision."

The Pak embassy said that in 1947, "Britain gave the princely states of British India, including Kashmir, an option to join either India or Pakistan. State governments made their decisions based on geography, demography, and proximity to India and Pakistan. Kashmir faced a unique situation, with a Hindu maharaja ruling a population made up of over 75 per cent Muslims.

"In an effort to alter Kashmir's demographic makeup, the Hindu maharaja relocated thousands of Hindus from other Indian states into Kashmir to ensure that Kashmir favours Indian rule."

Main of Pakistan's claims in this respect are known:

"

  • In August, 1948, a United Nations resolution called upon India and Pakistan to cease fighting and to make arrangements for a plebiscite in Kashmir. India refused to abide by the UN resolution. Again, in January 1949, the UN sought to broker a withdrawal of troops and sent Admiral Nimitz to negotiate the terms of a plebiscite. The referendum never took place.
  • Today, Kashmir's unresolved status is a major obstacle to peace and security in south Asia.
  • India wishes to avoid the internationalisation of the Kashmir dispute, while Pakistan actively seeks the international community's assistance in mediating a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
  • For over half a century, India has violated Kashmir's basic universal right to self-determination. Pakistan will continue to support the Kashmiri people until India permits Kashmir to exercise its right to self-determination as pledged to them by several UN Security Council resolutions.
  • Because the Line of Control has remained in dispute for over half a century, neutral mediation is the most practical and effective means by which to end the conflict."

    The embassy statement, coming amidst intense lobbying, asserts that "Pakistan defends Kashmir's right to self-determination, but India continually refuses to negotiate."

    It has also accused India of resorting to military force in Kargil and deploying over 600,000 along the Line of Control. Pakistan, it claims, wants to resolve the dispute diplomatically.

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