US-based Kashmir group urges world powers to get involved in Pak-India peace process

WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 (APP): A US-based Kashmiri organization urged the world powers on Wednesday to get involved in efforts to keep  the process of peace between Pakistan and India on track, saying representation of
Kashmiri leaders in the dialogue process was must
for a durable peace  and stability in South Asia.
Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary General of the World
Kashmiri Awareness, commenting on the recent surprise visit by the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi,  to Pakistan said
that sentiments of Kashmiri people have to be recognized in any solution to Kashmir, a dispute which is a bone of
contention between Pakistan and India.
Statements by some Indian leaders that Kashmir is an integral part of India needs to be clarified before the negotiations take place, he said while referring to  the assertion by Ram Madhav, the National Secretary General of BJP, who observed that “the only outstanding issue with regard to the Kashmir problem is the Kashmir under Pakistan occupation.”
“Mr. Madhav does not know what President John F. Kennedy said on July 25, 1961, “We cannot negotiate with people who say what’s mine is mine and  what’s yours is negotiable,” he added.
Dr Fai urged the world powers to persuade both India and
Pakistan to define the parameters of the dialogue over the
Kashmir dispute in such a way so that there is  only one definition and one interpretation of any joint communique they may issue in future.
“We know that all international conflicts ultimately were
resolved on the negotiating table. If that is true then the
world powers should become deeply engaged in  order to make sure that the peace process between India and Pakistan does not get derailed,” he added.
The Kashmiri leader said that the world powers could play
a bridge to bring India and Pakistan together so that
the animosity is done away with and the  dawn of dialogue and engagement is sustained.
Referring to the recent visit by the Indian Prime Minister
to Pakistan, he said that Kashmiri people will wait to see
if these important gestures between  New Delhi and Islamabad translate into “substantive policy procedures” that will ultimately help in resolving the Kashmir dispute to the satisfaction of all the  parties concerned – Pakistan, India and the people of Kashmir.
He said the day will come when Kashmir’s desires and interests as well as their representation at the table  will be
recognized. “Any process that ignores  those sentiments  will not only prove to be an exercise in futility  but can also
cause incalculable human and political damage for the  people of the region of South Asia – home to one-fifth  of total human race.”