Both India and Pakistan say they won at the UNSC. India’s contention is that under article 1 (ii) of the Simla Accord ‘the two countries are resolved to settle their differences by peaceful means through bilateral negotiations’. But this clause also stipulates that ‘pending the final settlement of any of the problems between the two countries, neither side shall unilaterally alter the situation’. Was revocation of the Special Status of Kashmir not a bid to ‘unilaterally alter the situation’?
What about the words ‘pending the final settlement’, signifying Kashmir dispute was still unsettled? What about article 1 (i) which states that ‘the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations shall govern the relations between the two countries’? It appears that India regards the LoC as International Boundary, in accordance with an unsubstantiated ‘secret understanding’ (PN Dhar, ‘Kashmir: The Simla Solution’, The Times of India April 4, 1995). Dhar said, ‘Bhutto agreed not only to change the ceasefire line into a line of control … but also agreed that the line would be gradually endowed with the characteristics of an international border’.
I think Avtar Singh Bhasin’s book, based on Nehru Papers, India Pakistan: Neighbours at Odds should set all controversies about Simla Accord at rest. Bhasin clarifies (page 256), ‘It may also be added in parentheses that soon after PN Dhār’s article was published in the Times of India, Pakistan’s Foreign Office Spokesman rejected any suggestion that there was any secret understanding at Simla.’ (Bhasin Document No. 1348 in India-Pakistan Relations 1947-2007) ‘At the end, Bhutto the “dramatist” carried the day at Simla. Having said that, India once again faltered to ask the UN to withdraw its team from Kashmir, or to withdraw its (India’s) own recognition to it and its privileges (Document No. 0712 in Bhasin’s India-Pakistan Relations 1947-207). Bhasin says (p.257-259), ‘The Pakistan Radio broadcasts and…commentators however took special pains to highlight …the fact: (i) that India has accepted Kashmir to be a disputed territory and Pakistan a party to the dispute; (ii) that the UNSC resolutions had not been nullified; (iii) Kashmir remained the core issue between the two countries and that there could not be permanent peace without a just solution based on the principle of self-determination for the people of Kashmir. And Pakistan was right in its assessment. It lost the war won the peace. At the end India was left askance at its own wisdom.
AJ Malik
Rawalpindi
Child labour in Pakistan
Child labour is the employment of children for work. According to the ILO, Child Labour is defined as work that has the potential to deprive children of their childhood, their dignity and is also harmful for their physical, moral and mental development. It also interferes with their education (either by not allowing them to attend school, leaving school prematurely, or forcing them to juggle school attendance with heavy work). It is a great problem in Pakistan. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan estimated that in the 1990s, 11 million children were working in the country, half of whom were under age ten. A large section of these children is employed through an informal economy in streets, in private structures or in their homes. This also deprives them of any form of safety and recognition. Denying children their fundamental right to be educated between the ages of five to sixteen exposes them to health hazards, hampers their development and puts them at risk to other forms of violence, which may be physical, psychological and sexual. Moreover, children in the labour environment are highly vulnerable to exploitation, including commercial and sexual, as well as trafficking.
Areeba Muneer
Karachi
The mobile phone addiction
With due respect, I would like to draw the attention of the concerned authority to the issue of rising addiction of mobile phones. Latest research indicates that the use of the internet and mobile phones becomes an obsession with the students. It may be considered one of the biggest non-drug addictions of the century. The youth are most affected by this. Although mobile phones have become a necessity today, young people must be aware of how to effectively use them. Workshops can be conducted to raise awareness among the people about the issue. I expect that through your newspaper this issue would be looked upon as soon as possible.
Hammad Lodhi
Karachi
Research in Pakistan
Research in Pakistan’s educational sector has always been a hard nut to crack. Most of the universities lack research facilities. Students are provided with some PPT files and notes to get them through the exam. Consequently, graduates possess no critical thinking and innovation. Furthermore, the majority of engineering graduates are only able to solve the problems included in their notes. The highest-ranked Pakistani university in the list published by QS World University Rankings 2019 occupies the 397th spot. There endures the vacuum between industry and university’s research facility, as in the case of any equipment design dilemma where foreign graduates are called in for help. In the present phase of socio-economic turmoil in Pakistan, the performance of industries is quite crucial.
Engr. Syed Faizan Shah
Lahore
