06051958 Letter dated 6 May 1958 from the representative of Pakistan Aly Khan to the president of the Security Council on Sheikh Abdullah s rearrest.
06051958 Letter dated 6 May 1958 from the representative of Pakistan Aly Khan to the president of the Security Council on Sheikh Abdullah s rearrest.
In continuation of my delegation's letter of 11 April 1958 (S/3987). I have the honour, under the direction of my Government, to bring to your notice the most recent instance of the reign of terror in Indian-occupied Kashmir, namely, the re-arrest of Sheikh Abdullah at his residence in Saura (Srinagar), at 4 a.m. on 30 April 1958.
Since this act of repression has closely followed the recent visit to New Delhi of Bakhshi Ghulam Mohammed, the puppet Premier of Indian-occupied Kashmir, the inference is warranted that Sheikh Abdullah has been thrown back into prison with the approval of the Government of India.
Bakhshi Ghulam Mahammed has taken action against the Kashmir leader under section 3 of the Kashmir Security Act on the pretext that Sheikh Abdullah "was planning large-scale disorders and subversions in the next few days".
The falsity of this allegation, made on 30 April 1958. is manifest from the fact that, only five days before. Bakhshi Ghulam Mohammed told the special correspondent of The Times,London (26 April 1958, p. 5) as follows:
"Abdullah has failed. When we decided to release him we did not know what to expect. We thought that the whole valley would be in turmoil, but everything has remained quiet... We felt certain he would defy the ban on political meetings but he has preferred to lie low."
Under section 3 of the Kashmir Security Act, which has been invoked for Sheikh Abdullah's re-arrest, no trial is required. This is conclusive proof of the fact that the puppet Bakhshi government was unable to substantiate its allegation with any evidence which could be sustained in a court of law.
It will be recalled that the same provisions of the above Act were resorted to in 1953 to arrest and imprison Sheikh Abdullah without trial for more than four years on the pretext that he had entered into a conspiracy with a foreign power. On his release in January 1958, he publicly challenged the Indian Government to substantiate this allegation. This was never done.
The reasons now given for Sheikh Abdullah's re-arrest sound as hollow and unconvincing as did the previous allegation of conspiracy. If Sheikh Abdullah had any intention of creating disturbances in the State, he would certainly have defied the order prohibiting the holding of public meeting, the taking out of processions and the assembling of five or more persons in public places including mosques (section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and rule 50 of the Defence Rules). That he had no such intention is confirmed by Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed's statement cited above to the special correspondent of The Times, London, 25 April 1958 as well as by Sheikh Abdullah's Id Day message of 21 April 1958 to the people of Kashmir. in which he categorically declared that he did not desire to violate the can on public meetings and processions.. This has been Sheikh Abdullah's attitude ever since he was released from prison in January 1958. On 9 March 1958, addressing a meeting at Khangah Mualla and Rainawari in Srinagar, he emphasized the need for Hindu-Muslim amity and warned the people against at tempts of the authorities in India-occupited Kashmir to pro voke relgious riots. Again. on 10 April 1958, while talking to Plebiscite Front workers from Gandarbal, Badgom and other places in the Valley of Kashmir, he referred to Bakhshi's speeches delivered in Bombay and Delhi accusing him (Sheikh Abdullah) of inciting terrorist activities in the State, as a "bundle of lies and falsehoods" designed to create ground for his re-arrest.
All this evidence is proof that Sheikh Abdullah had not the slightest intention to resort to violent methods in order to achieve his objective of a free and impartial plebiscite to be held in Kashmir under the auspices of the United Nations to determine the future of the State.
It follows, therefore, that the real reason for the re-arrest of Sheikh Abdullah are other than those put forward by the puppet Bakshi government to mislead world public opinion. The real reasons appear to be:
(a) Sheikh Abdullah's refusal to abate his demand for a fair and impartial plebiscite in the State to determine the question of its accession to India or Pakistan;
(b) His acknowledged popularity with the Kashmiri masses and his peaceful efforts to educate them in democratic methods of securing for themselves their right of self-determi
nation;
(c) His open denunciation of repressive measures adopted by the puppet Bakhshi regime to suppress the freedom movement, particularly the mass arrests and merciless beatings of his followers when they were dispersing peacefully after hearing his speech at Hazratbal on 21 February 1958;
(d) The failure of the puppet Bakhshi government to find any plausible excuse to bring him to trial under ordinary law. That his re-arrest cannot be given even a semblance of legality is confirmed by Bikhshi Ghulam Mohammed's statement, date lined New Delhi, India, May 5, published on page 29 of The New York Times of 6 May, that "he (Bakhshi) did not propose to place Sheikh Abdullah on trial".
(e) The danger of exposure by tourists during the tourist season of the real happenings inside Indian-occupied Kashmir. The experience of Mr. Ronald Sharpe, a New Zealand tourist, who recently visited Kashmir, may be quoted in this connection. He says:
"Bakhshi Ghulam Mohammed, the puppet Premier of Kashmir, who rules ruthlessly over the destiny of four million people with a strong Dogra army on the one side and civil police on the other, has instructed all his political puppets to launch a 'clean-up campaign' against the Sheikh Abdullah group with such vindictiveness as to teach him an unforgettable lesson for opposing the present regime".
The re-arrest of Sheikh Abdullah has not come as a surprise to the Pakistan Government or, for that matter, to the world. It was a foregone conclusion.
The people of Indian-occupied Kashmir, despite the reign. of terror, are becoming increasingly restive and are defying the ban on public meetings, by taking out processions and assembling in groups of five or more persons. Tension is mounting in the valley and in the surrounding areas. The Bakshi regime is once again using brutal violence to crush Abdullah's freedom fighters, as it did on the occasion of his arrest in 1953. To reinforce the army of repression, the puppet Premier Bakhshi Ghulam Mohammed has been sending frantic appeals, since the Sheikh's re-arrest, to Mr. Nehru to send more armed forces to Indian-occupied Kashmir.
These actions are likely to have serious repercussions in Pakistan. If peace and tranquillity are to be established in Indian-occupied Kashmir, it is impressive that, as a first step, Sheikh Abdullah should be freed immediately and restored to the full enjoyment of his human rights.
I am directed to point out that the arrest of Sheikh Abdullah constitutes a further breach of the Security Council resolution of 17 January 1948, which calls upon India and Pakistan to refrain from doing or permitting any acts which might aggravate the situation.
I trust that the Security Council will examine the assertions of the Government of India, contained in their permanent representative's letter of 1 May 1958 (S/3999), against the background of the above-mentioned facts.
I am instructed by my Government to request that this letter may be circulated to the members of the Security Council.
(Source: UN Document, S/4003)
(Signed) Aly Khan