United Nation Security Council has also joined the global community in condemning the terrorist attack on a school bus at Khuzdar in the harshest possible words. According to a statement issued by the Council the members reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constituted one of the most serious threats to international peace and security.
The members underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice. They urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with the Government of Pakistan in this regard.
While the statement issued by UNSC is a welcome initiative it is not enough to address the causes that have created this situation. The UNSC is charged with the responsibility to ensure peace in the world by addressing the root-causes of the conflicts as per the UN Charter. It also has the power to use force for the implementation of its resolutions. The perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of this reprehensible act terrorism cannot be held accountable and brought to justice by only Pakistan because of Indian involvement and sponsorship of such acts. It has to be an international initiative under the auspices of UNSC to dig out the truth and then take action against perpetrators of such inhuman indiscretions.
It is pertinent to reiterate that as soon the Pahalgam incident occurred and India immediately started pointing accusing finger towards Pakistan, the latter not only condemned the attack but also offered cooperation in holding an independent inquiry into the incident. But India instead of responding to these gestures built up war hysteria and finally committed aggression against Pakistan on the night between 6th and 7th May and persisted with it till the wee hours of 10 th May when Pakistan ultimately mounted a massive response forcing India to beg for a ceasefire as revealed by the US Secretary of state in a conversation without Deputy Prime Minister and foreign minister Ishaq Dar.
It is also imperative to mention that the Indian Prime Minister in response to a question by a media man regarding Pahalgam incident after the cease fire said that the investigations were still continuing. The question is that if the investigations were still ongoing how could India announce Pakistan’s involvement in it before investigations were completed?
The UNSC must immediately constitute a commission to hold a thorough probe into the situation before it is too late. India and Pakistan are two nuclear powers and any armed confrontation between them can have disastrous consequences for the regional as well as world peace. The world history is replete with examples where leaders like Modi obsessed with hate philosophy have not only inflicted death and destruction on other nations but have also destroyed their own countries. Modi surely is treading that path and in his madness to harm Pakistan his government has taken steps that can easily push the two countries into a war of mutual destruction. He has ended special status of IIOJ&K, up-scaled anti-Pakistan actions, adopted the course of hostility towards Pakistan which is amply corroborated by military confrontation between the two countries in the aftermath of false-flag operations at Pulwama and recently at Pahlgam, his suspension of the Indus Water Treaty and persistent threat to cut of water supply to Pakistan.
Thank God the massive response given to the Indian attacks and timely intervention by the friendly countries including USA ceasefire came into being preventing cataclysmic consequences. But the situation remains volatile as India has now intensified terrorist acts in Balochistan and KPK though its proxies for which Pakistan has irrefutable evidence. Terrorism is probably the biggest concern of the international community and there is a consensus on eliminating it by all means. It provides sufficient justification for strict action against the states sponsoring terrorism and the entities engaged in it.
Another and the most important issue that has bedeviled relations between Pakistan and India is non-resolution of the Kashmir dispute. The fact is that it was India which took the matter to the UNSC which deliberated on the issue thoroughly and ultimately adopted resolutions calling for settling the question of accession of Kashmir to either of the states through a plebiscite held under the auspices of the UN. Nehru the then Prime Minister of India readily accepted the resolutions and in his correspondence with his Pakistani counterpart kept assuring him to resolve the issue through a plebiscite. He also made a number of statements in the Indian parliament to this effect before reneging on his commitments in 1954.
Pakistan and India have fought three wars over Kashmir which happened before they had developed nuclear weapons. Kashmir is now a nuclear flash point. The situation has assumed alarming proportions as any miscalculation on either side can bring the much dreaded consequences. The international community and the UN therefore must get their act together and make real efforts to have this dispute resolved. Till the resolution of Kashmir dispute prospects of peace in the region will remain elusive.
