Letter dated 15 January 1948 from the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Pakistan addressed to the Secretary General Concerning the Situation in Jammu and Kashmir

15011948 Letter dated 15 January 1948 from the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Pakistan addressed to the Secretary General Concerning the Situation in Jammu and Kashmir

I have the honour to forward the following documents:

Document 1 being Pakistan's reply to the complaint prefer­red by India against Pakistan under Article J5 of the Charter of the United Nations Document II a statement of disputes which have arisen between India and Pakistan and which are likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace and order. Pakistan, being a member of the United Nations, has the honour to bring these to the attention of the Security Council under Article 35 of the Charter of the United Nations.

Document HI which contains a statement of the particulars of Pakistan's case with reference to both the matters dealt with in Documents I and II.

2. It is requested that these documents may be placed before the Security Council and that the Security Council may be requested to deal with the complaint referred to in docu­ment II at the earliest possible date. It is further requested that all action required by the rules in connection with these Documents may kindly be taken as early as possible.

Zafrullah Khan Minister of Foreign Affairs Government of Pakistan Government of Pakistan

Document I Pakistan's Reply to India's Complaint

I. The Government of India has under Article 35 of the Charter of the United Nations, brought to the notice of the Security Council the existence of a situation between India and Pakistan in which the maintenance of international peace and security is likely to be endangered. The situation in their view is due 'to the aid which the invaders consisting of nationals of Pakistan and of tribesmen from the territory immediately adjoining Pakistan on the North-West are drawing from Pakistan for operations against Jammu and Kashmir State which acceded to the Dominion of India and is a part of India.' They have requested the Security Council 'to call upon Pakistan to put an end immediately to the giving of such assistance which is an act of aggression against India*. They have also threatened that if Pakistan does not do so, the Government of India may 'enter Pakistan territory in order to take military action against the invaders*

2. The specific charges which the India Government has brought against Pakistan are:

1. that the invaders are allowed transit across Pakistan territory;
2. that they are allowed to use Pakistan territory as a base of operations;
3. that they include Pakistan nationals;
4. that they draw much of their military equipment, trans­port and supplies (including petrol) from Pakistan; and
5. that Pakistan officers are training, guiding and otherwise helping them.

3. While (he particulars of Pakistan's case are set out in Document III, the Pakistan Government emphatically deny that they are giving aid and assistance to the so-called invaders or have committed any act of aggression against India. On the contrary and solely with the object of maintaining friendly relations between the two Dominions the Pakistan Government has continued to do all in their power to discourage the tribal movement by all means short of war. This has caused bitter men throughout the country, but despite a very serious risk of large-scale internal disturbances the Pakistan Government has not deviated from this policy. In circumstances which will be clear from the recital of events set out in Docu­ment III, it may be that a certain number of independent tribesmen and persons from Pakistan are helping the Azad Kashmir Government in their struggle for liberty as volunteers, but it is wrong to say that Pakistan territory is being used as a base of military operations. It is also incorrect that the Pakistan Government is supplying military equipment, trans­port and supplies to the 'invaders' or that pakistan officers are training, guiding and otherwise helping them.

Government of Pakistan

I. For some time past a situation has existed between the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan which has given rise to disputes that are likely to endanger the main­tenance of international peace and security. Under Article 35 of the Charter of the United Nations, the Government of Pakistan hereby bring to the attention of the Security Council the existence of these disputes aad request the Security Council to adopt appropriate measures for the settlement of these disputes and the restoration of friendly relations between the two countries.

2. While the particulars of the background and circums­tances out of which these disputes have arisen are set out in Document lit, a brief statement of these disputes is:

(a) In anticipation of the award of the Boundary Commission set up under the Indian Independence Act, 1947, to effect a demarcation of boundaries between East and West Punjab and East and West Bengal, an extensive campaign of 'genocide' directed against the Muslim population of East Punjab, Delhi, Ajmer, and the States of Kapurthala, Faridkot, Jind, Nabha, Patiala, Bharafpur, Alwar and Gwalior, etc., was under­taken by the non-Muslim Rulers,, people, officials, police and armed forces of the States concerned and the Union of India beginning in the month of June 1947 which is still in process. In the course of the execution of this well-planned campaign large numbers of Muslims—running into hundreds of thousands—have been ruthlessly mas­sacred, vastly larger numbers maimed, wounded and injured and over five million men, women and children have been driven from their homes into neighbouring areas of western Pakistan. Brutal and unmentionable crimes have been committed against women and children. Property worth thousands of millions* of rupees has been destroyed, looted and forcibly taken possession of. Larger numbers of Muslims have, by extreme violence and the threat of violence, been compelled to make declarations renouncing their faith and adopting the Sikh or Hindu faith. Vast numbers of Muslim shrines and places of worship have been desecrated, destroyed or converted to degrading uses. For instance in the State of Alwar no single Muslim place of worship has been left standing. Among' other results of this campaign, the most serious has been to drive into Western Pakistan territory over five million Muslims in an extreme condition, of destitution, a very large proportion of whom are faced with death owing to privation, disease and the rigorous climate of Western Pakistan during the winter. Apart from the appalling volume of human misery and suffering involved, the economy of Western Pakistan has been very prejudi­cially affected by the incursion of these vast numbers of refugees. These events have established that the religion, culture and language of the 35 million Muslims within the Union of India, add indeed their very existence is in danger, as not only have the Government of India failed to provide adequate protection to the Muslims in areas which have been referred to above, but the police and the armed forces of the Union of India and the rulers of the States concerned, have actively assisted in the massacre and other atrocities committed upon the Muslim population.

(b) In September 1947, the States of Junagadh and Manavadar acceded to, as they were entitled to do under the agreed scheme of partition and the Indian Independence Act, 1947, and thus became part of Pakistan and entitled to the benefits of the standstill agreement between Pakistan and India. As soon as the accession was announced India started a war of nerves against these two States and certain other smaller States in Kathiawar, whose intention to accede to Pakistan was well known. A so-called 'provision .1* Government of Junagadh was set up in Bombay with the connivance of the Government of India and the active aid of its officials and later transferred its headquarters to Rajkot in Kathiawar where it proceeded to forcibly occupy property belonging to the Junagadh State and ejecied ,. Junagadh officials therefrom. The forces of the Indian Union, along with the forces of certain Hindu States in Kathiawar in accession with the Indian Union invested the State of Junagadh in all directions on the landward side and rendered it practically impossible for the Stale authorities and for the Muslim population of the State to hold any communication with the outside world through normal channels. The running of Junagadh railways and the postal and telegraph services of the State vis-a-vis the rest of the country were virtually put to an end. By the adoption of various devices a State of panic was created inside the State, the object of which was to bring the administration to a standstill. Eventually the forces of the Indian Union marched into the State under the excuse of an alleged invitation from the Dewan (Prime Minister) of the State. With the entry of these forces into the State was inaugurated an orgy of massacre and loot directed against the Muslim population of the State. A reign of terror was thus set up which still continues.

This action on the part of the Government of India amounted to a direct attack upon and aggression against Pakistan which Pakistan was entitled to repel by force. Pakistan, however, refrained from taking military action in the hope that the situation could be satisfactorily resolved by conciliatory means. This hope has, in spite of a continued series of protests and representations by Pakistan proved vain. If the situation is not now firmly handled and satisfactorily resolved there would be no coarse left open to Pakistan but to take appropriate military action to clear these States of India's armed forces and to restore the Stages to their lawful rulers.

(c) State of Jammu and Kashmir, which on the South and West is contiguous to Western Pakistan and has a Muslim population of nearly 80 per cent and a Hindu ruler, entered into a standstill agreement with Pakistan in the latter half of August 1947. The territory of the States was purchased by the great grandfather of the present Ruler from the East India Company in 1846 for 7.5 million rupees and ever since the Muslim population of this State has been oppressed and exploited by its Hindu Dogra Rulers. On several occasions the Muslim population has risen in rebellion against its oppressors, but these risings have always been mercilessly suppressed. The Maharajah was thus aware that any attempt by him to accede to the Union of India would not be tolerated by his people and would provoke violent reactions and uprisings through­out the State which he would be unable to control with the help of his own forces. Apparently he entered into the standstill agreement with Pakistan to secure his communications, all of which ran through Pakistan, and also a continuation of his supplies which could only be moved through Pakistan. The State obtained a narrow outlet into East Punjab and thus into the Union of India as the result of the most unfair and unjust Boundary Award of Sir Cyril Radcliffe. The Maharajah's own desire, as subsequent events have proved beyond a doubt, was to accede to the Union of India, but he dared not take that step for fear of the well-known attitude of the overwhelming majority of his people and the consequences to which such a step might expose him. device adopted by him was to allay the feelings of his Muslim subjects by means of the standstill agreement and then to bring about a State of affairs which would furnish him with an excuse to call in the military aid of the Union of India and thus transfer to the Government of India the responsibility of dealing with his people. In order to carry this plan into effect massacres of the Muslim population of the State by armed bands of Sikhs and Hindus and by the forces of the Maharajah were started in the latter half of September and provoked risings of the Muslim population in different parts of the State. The tragic events and the happenings in East Punjab and the Sikh and Hindu States in and around that Province had convinced the Muslim population of Kashmir and Jammu State that the accession of the State to the Indian Union would be tantamount to the signing of their death warrant. When the massacres started the Muslim population of the State realized that the fate that had overtaken their co-religionists in Kapurthala, Faridkot, Nabba, Jind, Patiala, Bharatpurand Alwar, etc., was about to overtake them also. A wave of terror thus ran throughout the State and the neighbouring districts of West Punjab and the North West Frontier Province. In their desperate situation the Muslim population of the State decided to make a final bid for liberty and indeed for their very existence, in which they had the full sympathy of their relations and fellow Muslims in the neighbouring districts of Pakistan. Several thousands of the Muslim people of the State, particularly in the area of Poonch, had served in support of the cause of the United Nations during the Second World War, and they decided to sell their lives dearly in the struggle with which they were now faced. Maharajah made this the excuse to 'accede* to the Union of India and the Government of India thereupon landed its troops in the State without consultation with or even any notice to the Government of Pakistan with whom the State had concluded a standstill agreement and to the territories of which it was contiguous throughout practically the whole of its southern and western border. The Pakistan Government made several efforts to bring about an amicable settlement of the situation but all of these were rejected by the Maharajah and the Government of India. In the meantime the Muslim population of the State «re being subjected to an intensified campaign of persecution and oppression in areas which are in (he occupation of the Indian forces.

The Muslim population of the State have set up an Azad (Free) Kashmir Government, the forces of which are carrying on their fight for liberty, ft is possible that these forces have been joined by a number of independent tribesmen from the tnbel areas beyond the North West Frontier Province and persons from Pakistan including Muslim refugees from East Punjab who are nationals of the Indian Union.

The allegation made by the Indian Government that the Pakistan Government is affording aid and assistance to the Azad Kashmir forces, or that these forces have bases in Pakistan territory, or that these forces are being trained by Pakistan officers, or are being supplied with arms or material by Pakistan. Governments are utterly unfounded.

On the contrary, armed bands from the State have repeatedly carried out incursions and raids into Pakistan territory and the air force of the Indian Union has on several occasions bombed Pakistan areas causing loss of life and damage to property. Protests made by the Pakistan Government to India have passed unheeded. Attacks by units of hz Indian Air Force over Pakistan.

territory has been described as due to errors of judgement. These attacks still continue.

It has been announced by the Government of India that it is their intention after restoring 'order* in the State to carry out a plebiscite to ascertain the wishes of the people in the matter of the accession of the State to India or to Pakistan. Anybody having the most superficial knowledge of the conditions that have prevailed in the State during the last 100 years would not hesitate to affirm that a plebiscite held while the Sikh and Hindu armed bands and the forces of the Union of India are in occupation of the State and are carrying on their activities there, would be no more than a force. A free plebiscite can be held only when all those who have during the last few months entered the State territory from outside, whether members of the armed forces or privates have been cleared out of the State, and peaceful conditions have been restored under a responsible, representative and impartial administra­tion. Even then care must be taken that all those that have been forced or compelled to leave the State since the middle of August 1947 are restored to their homes as it is apprehended that in the Jammu Province and elsewhere whole areas have been cleared of their Muslim population,

(d) Ever since the announcement of the decision to carry out a partition of the subcontinent of India into Pakistan and India, those responsible for giving effect to the decision on behalf of India have adopted an attitude of obstruction and hostility towards Pakistan, one of the objects being to paralyse Pakistan at the very start by depriving it of its rightful share of financial and other assets. Even in cases in which agreement was reached, the implementation thereof was either delayed or sabotaged altogether. This has been illustrated conspicuously by India's failure to implement the clauses of the settlement arrived at between Pakistan and India early in December 1947 and announced on 9 December, comprising the division of military stores, cash balances and other matters. Particulars of some of the instances in which obligations are set out in paragraphs 26 to 29-of Document IIL

(e) In its complaint preferred to the Security Council under Act 35 of the Charter of the United Nations India now threatens Pakistan with direct attack.

3. To sum up, Pakistan's complaint against India is:

(i) that India has never wholeheartedly accepted the parti­tion scheme and has, since June 1947, been making persistent attempts to undo it;

(ii) that a pre-planned and extensive campaign of 'genocide" has been carried out, and is still in progress against Muslims in certain areas which now form part of the Indian Union, notably East Punjab, Delhi, Ajmer, and the States of Kapurthala, Faridkot, Jind, Nabha, Patiaia, Bharatpur, Alwar, and Gwalior, etc., which are in accession with India, by the non-Muslim Rulers, people, officials, police and armed forces of the States concerned and of the Union of India;

(iii) that the security, freedom, well-being, religion, culture and language of the Muslims of India are in serious danger;

(iv) that Junagadh, Manavadar and some other States in Kathiawar, which have lawfully acceded to Pakistan and form part of Pakistan territory have been forcibly and unlawfully occupied by the armed forces of the Indian Union and extensive damage has been caused to the life and property of the Muslim inhabitants of these States, by the armed forces, officials and non-Muslim nationals of the Indian Union;

(vi) that India obtained the accession of the States of Jammu and Kashmir by fraud and violence and that large scale massacre and looting and atrocities on the: Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir State have been per­petrated by the armed forces of the Maharajah of Jammu and Kashmir and the Indian Union and by the non-Muslim subjects of the Muharajah and of the Indian Union;

(vi) that numerous attacks on Pakistan territory have been made by the Royal Indian Air Force, by armed bands from the Indian Union and the State of Jammu and Kashmir; ' ?

(vii) that India has blocked the implementation of agree­ments relating to or arising out of partition between India and Pakistan including the withholding of Pakistan's share of cash balances and military stores;

(viii) that under pressure from the Government-nt of India, direct or indirect, the Reserve Bank of India is refusing to honour to the full its obligations as Banker and Currency Authority of Pakistan, and that such pres­sure is designed to destroy the monetary and currency fabric of Pakistan;

(ix) that India now threatens Pakistan with direct military attack; and

(x) that the object of the various acts of aggression by India against Pakistan is the destruction of the State of Pakistan.

4. The Pakistan Government requested the security Council:

(i) to call upon the Government of India:

(a) to desist from acts of aggression against Pakistan;

1. to implement without delay all agreements between India and Pakistan including the financial settlement reached between India and Pakistan and announced on 9 December 1947, with regard to the division of the cash balances and military

stores of the pre-partition Government of India and other matters;

(c) to desist from influencing or putting pressure directly or indirectly on the Reserve Bank of India in regard to the discharge of its functions and duties towards Pakistan;

(ii) to appoint a Commission or Commissions:

(a)  to investigate the charges of mass destruction of Muslims in the areas now included in the Indian Union, to compile a list of the Rulers, officials, and other persons guilty of genocide and other crimes against humanity and abetment thereof, and to suggest steps for bringing these persons to trial before an international tribunal;

(b) to devise and implement plans for the restoration to their homes, lands and properties of Muslim residents of the Indian Union who have been driven out of or have been compelled to leave, the Indian Union and seek refuge in Pakistan, to assist in the relief and rehabilitation of such refugees; to secure the payment to them by the Indian Union of due

compensation for the damage and injuries suffered by them and to take effective steps for the future security, freedom and well-being of Muslims in India and for the protection of their religion, culture and language;

(c)  to arrange for the evacuation from Junagadh, Manavadar and other States of Kathiawar which have acceded to Pakistan of the military forces and civil administration of the Indian Union and to restore these States to their lawful Rulers;

(d)  to assist the restoration to their homes, lands and properties of residents of the States referred to in

(c) who have fled from, or have been driven out of such States, and for payment of compensation by the Indian Union for loss or damage caused by the unlawful actions and activities of the military forces, civil officials and nationals of the Indian Union in these States;

(e) to arrange for the cessation of fighting in the State of Jammu and Kashmir; the withdrawal of all out­ siders whether belonging to Pakistan or the Indian Union including members of the armed forces of the Indian Union; the restoration and rehabilita­tion of all Muslim residents of the Jammu and Kashmir State as on 15 August 1947, who have been compelled to leave the State as a result of the tragic events since that date, and the payment to them by the Indian Union of due compensation for the damage and injuries suffered by them; to take steps for the establishment of an impartial and independent administration in the State of Jammu and Kashmir, fully representative of the people of that State; and thereafter to hold a plebiscite to ascertain the free and unfettered will  of the people of the Jammu and Kashmir State as to whether the State shall accede to Pakistan or to India; and

1. to assist in and supervise the implementation of all agreements reached between India and Pakistan in pursuance of the decision to partition the subcontinent of India and to resolve any diffe­rences in connection therewith.

5. In conclusion the Pakistan Government wishes to assure the Security Council and the Government of India of their earnest desire to live on terms of friendship with India and to place the relations between the two countries on the most cordial, co-operative and friendly basis. This happy State of affairs so earnestly desired by Pakistan can only be achieved through a just and satisfactory settlement of the differences that at present unfortunately divide the two countries. Any attempt to settle any of these questions in isolation from the rest is bound to end in frustration and might further compli­cate a situation already delicate and full of explosive possibili­ties. Friendly and cordial relations can only be restored by the elimination of all differences that are at present generating friction and causing exacerbation. The disputes to which the attention of the Security Council has been drawn in this docu­ment are all interrelated and are specific manifestations of the spirit that is poisoning the relationship between the two countries. The restoration of this relationship to a healthy and munificent State depends entirely upon a just and fair settle­ment of every one of these disputes being simultaneously achieved. Pakistan hopes and trusts that this will be secured as speedily as possible through the Security .

Particulars of Pakistan's Case

1. The Pakistan Government is glad that the Government of India has chosen to make a reference to the Security Coun­cil. In fact they have for some time been of the view that this is the only feasible method of peacefully settling the differences between the two countries. They have already unsuccessfully tried over a period of many months to seek a solution to the disputes between the two Dominions by the methods described in Article 33 of the Charter.

1. India has chosen to confine the reference to the Security Council to one single aspect of the Kashmir question which ignores the basic and fundamental issues affecting the State of

Jammu and Kashmir. But even the Kashmir episode in all its aspects is but one link in the chain of events which has been unfolding itself ever since it became obvious that there was no solution of the Hindu-Muslim problem except the partition of India. A reference to the Security Council must therefore cover much larger ground and embrace all the fundamental differences between the two Dominions.

1. story begins as early as the middle of 1946 following the demonstration of Muslim solidarity throughout the country after the last Provincial elections. It then became clear that the achievement of Pakistan was the unalterable goal of the Muslims. The inevitability of the partition of the country which now evident gave rise to a wave of deep resentment among the Hindu and Sikh population of the sub-continent. As a direct result of this severe communal rioting occurred in several towns and provinces of India such as Calcutta, Noakhali, Bihar, Bombay, Garhmukteshwar, Rawalpindi, Lahore and Amritsar. Such communal strife had not been unknown pre­viously, but what was astonishing was the unprecedented scale of killings that took place in Bihar and Garhmukteshwar proving beyond doubt the existence of a well-settled plan of extermination of the Muslims. It was during these disturbances that the Rashtriya Sevak Sangh came to be known as the author of some of the most brutal massacres. orgy of blood, however, died down in due course, but as later events proved only temporarily.

4. The political activity which took place in the early part of 1947 produced a lull, but soon after the partition plan was announced on 3 June 1947, clear indications began to be received that the country was going to be plunged into a bloodbath by the fanatical Sikhs and the militant Hindu groups headed by the Rashlriya Sewak Sangh who had made no secret of their opposition to the partition scheme, in spite of its being acceded by the representatives of all the three major communities.

1. The preparations which the Sikhs were making for creating large-scale disturbances were known to the authorities, and in fact the Sikh leaders made no secret of them. So overwhelming was the evidence that the Viceroy was compelled to warn the Maharajah of Patiala, Master Tara Singh and the other Sikh leaders, that strong action would be taken against them. At a meeting which the Viceroy had in the beginning of July 1947 with Congress and Muslim League leaders and members of the Interim Government it was decided to arrest immediately prominent Sikh leaders including Master Tara Singh and Udham Singh Nagoke. These arrests were however postponed on one ground or another and the Sikh plan was allowed to be put into operation with a carefully prepared attack on a special train carrying Pakistan Government employees and their families from Delhi to Karachi on 9 August 1947.

6. As the plan unfolded itself it became clear that the Sikhs encouraged and actively assisted by the Hindus and determined to liquidate by violent and bloody means the entire Muslim population of East Punjab. The object of the plan was to kill or drive out Muslims in order to settle in their place the Sikh population which was being pulled out of East Punjab under a planned scheme. The modus operandi was to disarm the Muslim population and then to leave it at the mercy of armed bands who were actively assisted by the Army and police. There is abundant evidence that this plan had the full support and active assistance not only of the officers of the East Punjab Government but also of the Sikh States such as*Patiala, KapurthaLa, and Faridkot. Months before the partition of the country in August 1947, Alwar and Bharatpur had set the example in liquidating their entire Muslim population by massacres, forced conversions on a mass scale and by driving out the rest. Patiala, Faridkot, Jind, Kapurthala, in fact, all the Hindu and Sikh States in the East Punjab followed this example with added atrocities and fresh horrors. Malerkotla, a small neighbouring State in the East Punjab, which has a majority of non-Muslims in the population and a Muslim Ruler provides a refreshing contrast since there has been no disturb­ance of any kind in that State and the non-Muslim population has been perfectly safe. On the other hand, Kapurthala which like Kashmir and a majority of Muslims in the population with a non-Muslim Ruler has today hardly any Muslims left. SimiJariy large tracts of Muslim majority areas which under the Boundary Award had been most unjustly included in East Punjab were cleared of Muslims by massacres, forced conver­sions and expulsions. The whole country was ravaged by fire and sword, vast numbers were butchered and countless women were abducted. Indeed, decency forbids mention of some crimes committed against women. Millions were forcibly and ruthlessly driven out of their home. The process went on sector by sector and culminated in the tragedy that was enacted in Delhi, the capital of India. According to the Government of India them­selves there was a breakdown of administration in the capital for a number of days. The destruction and desecration of mosques, tombs and holy places and forcible conversions on a mass scale were special features of these happenings. In Alwar for example every mosque has been destroyed.

7. While this vast scheme of genocide* was being put into execution in East Punjab and neighbouring areas the Pakistan Government made repeated efforts to persuade the Union of India to arrest its course. A number of conferences were held between the two Dominions almost invariably at the instance of the Pakistan Government but while lip-service was paid to the necessity of restoring order no serious effort was made by

1. Indian Government to implement their promises. In fact it became clear that they were determined to leave no Muslims in East Punjab. The Pakistan Government appealed to the Governments of the British Commonwealth to arrange a con­ference to find ways and means of removing this serious threat to the peace and security of the sub-continent but the Indian Government opposed this proposal on the ground of outside

1. The Pakistan Government also proposed that United Nations observers should immediately visit the disturbed areas but this too was opposed by India.

8. This plan of liquidation of the Muslim population is still proceeding despite the pious professions of the Government of India. The latest example of this is provided by the happenings in the holy city of Ajmer, about which the Government of Pakistan      had warned the Indian Government some weeks ahead. In this connection the Government of Pakistan find it difficult to believe that the Government of India are inno­cent of complicity in this vast scheme of 'genocide' started by the Sikhs and Hindus and encouraged and supported by persons in authority as a means of destroying the newly created State of Pakistan. This is amply supported by the speeches and declarations of Hindu and Sikh leaders. The Muslims of India are being subjected to calculated insults and humiliations and pressure is being brought on them by prominent Hindu leaders including Premiers of Provinces to renounce their language and culture. All sorts of tests of loyalty are being demanded from them. The one on which particular emphasis is laid is that they should denounce Pakistan and try to undo the partition and express their readiness to fight Pakistan on the side of India in the event of war between the two Dominions, which last is an indication of the future intentions of the Government of India. It is a matter of deep regret that even today responsible members of the Government of India, including the Prime Minister, openly declare their intention or hope of bringing Pakistan back into the Indian Union, we are knowing that this can be done only through conquest by arms. The Pakistan Government has pointed out many times to the India Govern­ment that speeches and statements of this nature are calculated to excite and provoke the Muslims and thus impair friendly relations between the two countries; but these representations have had no effect. Such an attitude can only mean that the Hindu and Sikh leaders while giving their agreement to the partition plan did so without any intention of permitting its implementation and, further, that India is determined to undo the settlement by all means at its disposal. In other words, Pakistan's very existence is the chief casus belli as far as India is concerned.

9. The events which took place following the announce­ment of the accession of Junagadh and Manavadar States to Pakistan lend further support to the contention of the Pakistan

The Government of India intended by all possible means at their disposal to destroy Pakistan.

1. In accordance with the agreed scheme of partition and the Indian Independence Act, 1947, Indian States were under no compulsion to accede to either of the two Dominions. Notwithstanding this clear provision the Government of India  by a combination of threats and cajolery forced a number of States into acceding to the Indian Union. The Rulers of Junagadh and Manavadar were similarly threatened but they stood firm and acceded to Pakistan. This was the signal for India to launch with full force its attack, using every possible weapon in order to force the States, against their will, to change their affiliations. Protests were made to the Pakistan Govern­ment, pointing out that a State which had a Hindu majority population could not accede to Pakistan, as the country had been divided on a communal basis. Another reason given was that Junagadh, though accessible from Western Pakistan by a short sea passage, was not physically contiguous to Pakistan and that its accession to Pakistan was calculated to cause disruption in the integrity of India. Simultaneously with these protests, the Government of India put large bodies of Indian troops on the border of Junagadh and encouraged the neigh­bouring Hindu States, which had acceded to India, to do likewise. In clear violation of the standstill agreement the Junagadh State was subjected to an economic blockade involving-stoppage of all vital supplies, including food, cloth and coal into the State terri­tory. Lines of communication including railway and telegraph were operated in such a manner that it became virtually impossible for the State or the Muslim population of Junagadh to communicate with the outside world by the usual means. A strong press campaign calculated to destroy the morale of the State administration and to create panic among the population was launched both inside and outside the State.

11 Another line of attack was adopted by setting up a 'provisional government* with headquarters first at Bombay and later at Rajkot, which claimed the right to liberate the non-Muslim population of Junagadh State. The so-called 'Azad Fouj' of the provisional government was created and armed by the men and officers of the Indian Dominion. The Provisional government not only proceeded to seize by force State property in Rajkot but by violent means created conditions in which it became impossible for the State administration to function. At this point the Government of India sent their troops and occupied the State under the plea of an alleged 'invitation' by the Dewan. Since then an orgy of murder, arson, rape and loot has been let loose against the Muslims in the State by the military forces of India in exactly the same manner as in Northern India and Muslims have had to flee from the State, It should be added that as long as the State was under the administration of the Nawab, there was no molestation of any section of the population whatever. According to newspaper reports Mr. Samaldas Gandhi, the head of the so-called pro­visional Government, has openly thanked the Deputy Prime Minister of India for the assistance received. All this was done in utter disregard of the international code of conduct and ordinary neighbourly decency. In the interest of peace between the two Dominions, Pakistan refrained from sending a single soldier to Junagadh. Occupation by force of Junagadh, which is Pakistan territory, is a clear act of aggression against Pakistan. Pakistan is entitled to sent its forces into Junagadh to clear out the invading forces of India by military action and in the event of the present position continuing would be under the necessity of taking such action in discharge of its obligation to the Ruler and the people of Junagadh, as under the terms of the Instrument of Accession executed between Junagadh and Pakistan 'Defence' is an obligation of Pakistan.

12, In the case of Manabadar not even the flimsiest show of justification was considered necessary and the State was taken under military occupation without any explanation being offered. A similar fate befell the Talukdari State of Sardargarh, Bantva, Sultanabad and Mangrel. The unfortunate Rulers of some of these States have been kept in detention and have been subjected to considerable pressure to wean them from their affiliation to Pakistan.

13. Kashmir provides the culminating illustration of the hostility of the India Government to Muslims and Pakistan and their determination to satisfy their imperialistic ambition of

rule over the entire subcontinent by fascist tactics and use of naked force.

14 The State of Jammu and Kashmir was purchased by the great grandfather of the present Hindu Dogra Maharajah from the East India Company in 1846 for the paltry sum of 7.5 million rupees. Nearly 80 per cent of the population of the State is Muslim but the administration, civil and military, is almost entirely in the hands of non-Muslims. The adminis­tration has been notoriously oppressive and retrograde and the Muslim population has been kept in a State of abject poverty and misery.

15. On the 15th August 1947 Jammu and Kashmir State like other States was free to accede or not to accede to either Dominion. It entered into a standstill agreement with Pakistan under which inter alia the administration of post and telegraph services was entrusted to Pakistan. Since all the natural outlets of the State fall into Pakistan all outside supplies reached ihe State through Pakistan.

1. In view of the communal composition of the population of the State and the continuous oppression and degradation to which they had throughout the period of Dogra rule been

subjected, against which they had risen a number of times, it was perfectly obvious to the Maharaja that any attempt made by him to accede to the Union of India and thus to perpetuate the slavery of the overwhelming Muslim population of his State to Hindu rule would immediately provoke a widespread and violent uprising which he would be utterly unable to withstand with the help of his own forces. He, therefore, chose to enter into a standstill agreement with Pakistan which served for the time being to allay the uneasiness of the Muslim population of the State and led them to hope that the standstill agreement

would eventually ripen into full accession. This was, however, only a device on the part of the Maharajah to gain enough time within which to create conditions which would furnish

him with a plausible excuse to call in the forces of the Indian Union so that after trampling down all popular opposition with their help he might be able to accomplish his desire of acceding to the Union of India, thus putting upon the latter the responsi­bility to deal with his rebellious people.

17 During September 1947 disturbing news of repression and massacres of the Muslims of the State by the Sikh armed bands and Rashtriya Sewak Sangh assisted by the Hindu Dogra police and army of the State started reaching Pakistan through Muslim refugees who sought asylum in Pakistan. Soon the number of refugees swelled and it became obvious that the happenings of the East Punjab and the States like Patiala and Kapurthala was re-enacted in Jammu and Kashmir. At the same time the number of raids by armed bands from the State territory into Pakistan increased. The Pakistan Govern­ment repeatedly tried to discuss these questions with the Kashmir Government as well as the complaints of the Kashmir Government regarding supplies which owing to the breakdown of communications in the Punjab were not reaching the State in full. The Pakistan Government sent a representative of their Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Srinagar to discuss these matters with the State, but Mr. Mahajan who had taken over charge as Prime Minister of the State on 15 October, refused to hold discussions with him and he had to return. On the very day that Mr. Mabajan took over charge he addressed a telegram to the Prime Minister of Pakistan threatening that unless Pakistan agreed to an impartial enquiry into the matters in dispute bet­ween the two states he would be compelled to ask for outside assistance. The Prime Minister of Pakistan at once accepted the proposal for an impartial enquiry and asked the Prime Minister of Kashmir to nominate a representative for this purpose. The Government of Kashmir made no further reference to this matter. On 18 October, the Prime Minister of Kashmir in a -communication to the Governor-General of Pakistan repeated his charges against Pakistan and concluded it by saying that he wished to make it plain that the attitude of the Government of Pakistan could be tolerated no longer and that he would be justified in asking for outside assistance. On 20 October, the Governor-General replied calling attention to the repeated attempts of Pakistan to maintain friendly relations with Kashmir and invited the Prime Minister of Kashmir to come to Karachi and talk things over with him. The Governor-General also pointed out that the threat to call outside help amounted almost to an ultimatum and showed that the real aim of the Kashmir Government's policy was to seek an excuse to accede to the Indian Union. In the opinion of the Government of Pakistan the course of these negotiations clearly shows that the Kashmir Government had never any intention of maintain­ing friendly relations with Pakistan and that, at any rate, as early as 15 October, they had made up their minds to call in outside assistance in concert with the Government of India.

18. Meanwhile, the repression of Muslims in the State was increasing in intensity. Repression was followed by resistance particularly in the area of Poonch, which includes in its popu­lation 65,000 ex-soldiers who fought for the United Nations during the last world war. The resistance in its turn was sought to be put down with severe oppression until the Dogra sava­gery supported by the brutality of Sikhs and Rashtriya Sevak Sangh created a reign of terror in the State. In sheer despera­tion the Muslim population of the State broke out into open revolt in several areas and declared their independence of the Maharajah. Many of them were ruthlessly cut down and acts of indescribable horror were perpetrated by the Dogra forces of the Maharajah assisted by the Sikhs and the Rashtriya Sevak Sangh. This State of affairs naturally., aroused strong feelings of sympathy throughout Pakistan where the presence of millions of Muslim refugees from East Punjab (nationals of the Indian Union) and Indian States, was an ever constant reminder of the fate which was about to overtake the Muslims of Kashmir. Consequently, some of these refugees and other Muslims from contiguous areas who had numerous ties of rela­tionship with the persecuted Muslims of the State, went across to assist their kinsmen in the struggle for freedom and indeed for existence itself. It is to be noted that the first outside incur­sion into the State occurred more than a week after the Prime Minister of Kashmir had threatened to call in outside assistance. It is clear that the sole responsibility for these events must rest on the Maharajah's Government who ordered the oppression of the Muslims as a matter of State policy on the model of what had happened in East Punjab and States like Patiala, Bharatpur, Alwar, etc. In conspiracy with the Indian Government, they seized upon this incursion as the occasion for putting into effect the pre-planned scheme for the accession of Kashmir as a coup detat and for the occupation of Kashmir by the Indian troops simultaneously with the acceptance of the accession by India. The Pakistan Government has not accepted and cannot accept the accession of Jammu and Kashmir State to India. la their view that accession is based on violence and fraud. It was fraudulent in as much as it was achieved by deliberately creat­ing a set of circumstances with the object of finding an excuse to State the 'accession*. It was based on violence because it furthered the plan of the Kashmir Government to liquidate the Muslim population of the State. The accession was against the

 well-known wishes of an overwhelming majority of the popula­tion and could not be justified on any grounds whether moral, constitutional, geographical, economic, cultural or religious.

19. For some time past the India Government has been engaged in misleading the world as to the true wishes of the people of Kashmir by playing up the National Conference and its leader Sheikh Abdulla. Sheikh Abdulla had been sentenced by the Maharaja's Government in 1946 to a long term of imprisonment on a charge of treason. He was released early in October 1947 as part of the plan to accede to India. On the

other hand, the true leaders of the Muslims of the State whose only representative organization is the Muslim Conference are kept in jail on technical grounds. Their real offence is that being the true representatives of the majority of Muslims of the State they favour accession to the State of Pakistan.

1. If the Government of India had extended to the Pakistan Government the courtesy of consulting them before embarking on their enterprise and suddenly landing troops in Kashmir, or even notifying Pakistan of their proposed action thus providing an opportunity for discussion and consultation, it might have been possible to avert the tragedy of Kashmir. The events following the forcible occupation of the State by the Indian troops more than confirmed the worst fears of the Muslims. Massacres, atrocities and crimes against women, were now committed on a scale surpassing anything which the Maharaja's forces  had previously been perpetrated. Jammu Province, which had a majority of Muslims has today very few Muslims left in areas in the occupation of the Indian forces. The condition created by the military intervention of the Government of India served to swell the torrent of popular resentment in Pakistan to an uncontrollable degree.
2. In view of this background it is not surprising if independent tribesmen and persons from Pakistan, in particular the Muslim refugees (who, it must be remembered, are nationals of the Indian Union) from East Punjab are taking part in the struggle for the liberation of Kashmir as part of the forces of the Azad Kashmir Government. In regard to the--modern military equipment which is alleged to be in the possession of the Azad Kashmir Forces, to the best of the information of the Pakistan Government, these forces are poorly equipped and such few modern weapons as they possess have either been captured from the Dogras and Indian troops or have been in their possession since the days of the British. The Pakistan Government emphatically repudiate the charge that they have supplied military equipment, transport and supplies to the 'invaders* or that Pakistan Officers are training, guiding and otherwise helping them.

22. The military resistance of Azad Kashmir has no doubt come as an unpleasant surprise to the Indian Government who appear to have underestimated the valour and patriotism of a

people stirred to their depths by the horrors perpetrated upon them and their co-religionists in certain parts of the Indian Union. The character of the terrain, the climate, the familiarity of the Azad Kashmir Forces (the bulk of whom are drawn from the State) with the country in which they are operating, their military traditions and the military skill acquired by them during their fight on the side of the United Nations have all combined to nullify to a large extent the vastly superior equip­ment of the Indian forces.

1. This recital of the events in Kashmir would be incomplete without a statement of the many efforts made by the Pakistan Government to reach a peaceful settlement of this issue. Immediately after the intervention of the Government of India in Kashmir on 27 October the Governor-General of Pakistan arranged a conference to be attended by the two Governors-General, the two Prime Ministers of the Dominions and the Maharaja and Prime Minister of Kashmir. This conference feli through owing to the indisposition of Pandit

Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister of India. A second meeting was arranged for 1 November but again at the last minute Pandit Nehru could not come and only the Governor-

The General of India came. During the discussion with the Governor general of India, the Governor-General of Pakistan put forward The following proposals:

(i) put an immediate stop to fighting, the two Governors-General should be authorised and vested with full powers by both Dominion Governments to issue a proclamation forthwith giving forty-eight hours' notice- to the two opposing forces to cease fire. The Governor-General of Pakistan explained that he had no control over the forces of the Azad Kashmir Government or the independent tribesmen engaged in the fighting but that he would warn them that if they did not obey the order to cease fire immediately the force of both Dominions would make war on them.

(ii) Both the forces of the India Dominion and the outside-'invaders' withdrew simultaneously and with the utmost expedition from Jammu and Kashmir Stater territory.

(iii) With the sanction of the two Dominion Governments the two Governors-General to be given full powers to restore peace, undertake the administration of Jammu and Kashmir State and arrange for a free plebiscite without delay under their joint control and supervision.-

24. No reply was received to these proposals for many days. On 2 November, however,, the Prime Minister of India made it clear in a broadcast that the India Government intended to force a decision by military action and to continue their occupation and the puppet administration set up by them. The plebiscite which he has announced would be held after the complete subjugation of the State of the Indian armed forces is bound to be no more than a force and must result in the permanent occupation of the State by India which is the aim of the India Government. All subsequent discussions between the two Dominions have proved fruitless owing to the insistence of India on keeping their troops in the State and their refusal to agree to an impartial administration as the prerequisite of a. free and unfettered plebiscite. The Pakistan Government suggested as early as 37 November that the whole matter including the retention of troops, the character of the interim administration and the holding of the plebiscite should be entrusted to the United Nations but the Indian Government refused to accept this proposal.

1. While Pakistan is doing its best to maintain peaceful-relations with India, there have been many attacks on Pakistan territory by armed bands from Jammu and Kashmir State

Territory supported by the forces of the Maharaja and those of the Indian Union. The Pakistan Government has sent repeated representations to the India Government on the subject but without any effect. The Royal Indian Air Force has also made numerous attacks on Pakistan territory causing considerable damage to life and property. The protests of the Pakistan Government have only elicited the assertion by the

Government of India that these are minor incidents due to errors of judgement by Indian airmen. The attacks have, however, continued to be persistent.

1. India's treatment of Pakistan in respect of administra­tive, economic and financial matters indicates the same attitude of hostility towards Pakistan. The process of partition itself was punctuated by all manner of obstructions aimed at depriving Pakistan of its rightful share of financial and other assets, and even iu cases in which agreement was    reached the

implementation was delayed or sabotaged. A large number of instances can be quoted in support of this statement but it wilt suffice to mention the following:

(i) division of military stores;

(ii) division of cash balances;

(iii) Interference with the Reserve Bank so as to destroy: the monetary and currency fabric of Pakistan.

27. To supervise the division of armed forces and military stores a Joint Defence Council was set up consisting of Lord Mountbatten, Governor-General of India, as Chairman, representatives of the two successor authorities—India and Pakistan—and Field-Marshal Auchinleck, the Supreme Com­mander, as impartial authority to implement the decisions of the Joint Defence Council. It was estimated that the Supreme Commander would be able to complete his task by 31 March 1948. Within a very short time of the setting up of the Supreme Command, India created such a hostile atmosphere in Delhi that the Supreme Commander found it impossible to discharge his responsibilities and was forced to recommend the abolition of his headquarters long before he had completed his Sask. In spite of the protest of Pakistan, the Government of India succeeded in doing away with this impartial organization which could have ensured equitable distribution of the stores and proper reorganization of the armed forces. The India Government pledged at the time that Pakistan would get its due share of military stores. These assurances were supported by Lord Mountbatten who at a meeting of the Joint Defence Council held on 8 November stated that he believed that in view of the unanimous endorsement given by the Indian Cabinet to the pledge that India would deliver to 'Pakistan the letter's full share of stores, Pakistan's principal objection had been met. This pledge like other similar pledges of the India Government has not been honoured and the slight trickle of military stores to Pakistan shows signs of stopping altogether.

28. The story of the division of cash balances is even more illustrative of the attitude of the Government of India. The cash balances of the undivided Government of India on 14 August 1947 were four-thousand million rupees. Pakistan representatives demanded that out of these one-thousand million rupees should be handed over to Pakistan as its share. Since the matter could not be settled it was decided to refer the case to the Arbitral Tribunal. In the beginning of December 1947, however, all outstanding cases which had been referred to the Arbitral Tribunal were settled by agreement between the two Dominions and Pakistan's share of the cash balances was fixed at 750 million rupees. This financial settlement was •reached on its own merits and was in no way linked with the Kashmir question or any other issues. Nevertheless, India has since refused to hand over the amount until the Kashmir question is settled. India's action is made possible only by the fact that the Reserve Bank of India, which holds the cash balances, is controlled and dominated by the India Govern­ment and is not functioning as it should, as a trustee of both the Dominions.

29. According to the arrangements agreed to at the time of Partition, the Reserve Bank of India was to act as Banker and Currency Authority both for the Indian Union and Pakistan. As it was realised that it would take some time for Pakistan to establish its own currency and Banking Authority and to sub­stitute its own currency for the common currency of the pre-partition India which is in use all over the sub-continent, it was agreed that Pakistan's own currency should commence 'coming into use from 1 April 1948, but that a separate currency authority should be set up by Pakistan by 1 October 1948.' On the suggestion of the Reserve Bank made before the partition, it was agreed that:

1. so long as there were notes available in the Banking Department, Pakistan should be freely allowed ways and ravens advances on payment of interest at one-half percent and the only limitation on these ways and means advances would be the availability of notes in the Banking Department; and

(b) that when ways and means advances were needed by Pakistan to meet its requirements which could not be otherwise met out of its cash balances or ways and means advances, Pakistan should be able to have its currency expanded against its own ad hoes. The limit for such ad hoes was fixed at 30 million rupees. It was agreed as a part of a financial settlement between India and Pakistan announced on 9 December 1947, that India would not object to the removal of this top limit if the Reserve Bank did not raise any objection. Such ad hoes were to be retired against the Pakistan share of the assets of the Reserve Bank in its issue Department. Under pressure from the Government of India, direct or indirect, the Reserve Bank is now refusing to honour to the full its obligations. This pressure is continuing and is designed lo destroy the monetary and currency fabric of Pakistan, thus endangering the safety of the State.

30. Not content with these various acts of hostility and aggression against Pakistan, the Government of India now threatens Pakistan with a direct military attack.

(Document S/646 in SCOR, 3rd Year, Supplement for November 1984 pp. 67-87)

The Agenda adopted by the Security Council Meeting No.

1. held on I6th January 1948.

 

1. Adoption of the Agenda.

2. The Jammu and Kashmir question:

 

1. Letter dated 1 January 1948 from the representative of India addressed to the President of the Security Council concerning the situation in Jammu and Kashmir (docu­ment S/628).
2. Letter dated 15 January 1948 from the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Pakistan addressed to the Secretary-General concerning the situation in Jammu and

Kashmir (document S/646).

Agenda adopted by the Security Council Meeting No. 229 held on I7th January 1948.

Provisional Agenda (Document S, Agenda 229)

1. Adoption of the Agenda.
2. The Jammu and Kashmir question:

(a) Letter dated 1 January 1948 from the representative of India to the President of the Security Council con­cerning the situation in Jammu and Kashmir (document S/628).

(b) Letter dated 15 January 1948 from the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Pakistan to the Secretary-General concerning the situation in Jammu and Kashmir (docu­ment S/646).

Security Council TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHTH MEETING

Continuation of the Discussion of the Sit nation in Jammu and Kashmir