10091958 Letter dated 10 September, 1958 from the representative of Pakistan Mr. R. S. Chhatari to the President of the Security Council
Letter dated 10 September, 1958 from the representative of Pakistan Mr. R. S. Chhatari to the President of the Security Council
1. I have the honour to refer to the letter of the permanent representative of India, dated 15 August 1958, which is contained in document S/4086.
2. My Government regrets its inability to comprehend the feeling of irritation displayed by the permanent representative of India in paragraph 1 of his letter under reference. Indeed it cannot be caused by reporting to the Security Council, in compliance with terms of its resolution of 17 January 1948 important developments which are likely to effect a material change in the prevailing situation of the Kashmir dispute. Nor could it result from the actions which the Government of Pakistan is taking. One is, therefore, at a loss to determine the cause of the distress of the permanent representative of India.
3. In his letter the permanent representative of India has questioned facts submitted to the members of the Security Council in our letter of 15 July 1958 [S/4048], relating to the launching of the Kashmir Liberation Movement under the leadership of Mr. Ghulam Abbas. In his letter he has adduced. no evidence to contradict the facts. On the contrary, he has relied solely on one news report published in a Pakistani newspaper. This report referred not to the scope and character of the movement itself but to the happening of one particular day.
4. For brevity's sake, I reproduce only a few reports and comments published by impartial news services. They appear as an annex to this letter. These reports explain the situation which confronts my Government at present.
5. Finally, by stopping the people of Azad Kashmir from marching across the cease-fire line, my Government had to perform the unpleasant duty of arresting and imprisoning leaders and thus causing dissatisfaction throughout Pakistan at a time when national elections in Pakistan are about to take place.
6. The people of Azad Kashmir are convinced that as bona fide citizens of Kashmir they have a right to return to their homes.
7. I request that this letter be circulated to the members. of the Council as a Security Council document (Signed) R. S. CHHATARI Acting Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations
ANNEX
"Kashmir Marchers' Leader Arrested: Pakistan Police Action
"Several batches of volunteers were arrested or detained at Murree, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Lohore, Jhelum, and other places. Volunteers from towns in Azad Kashmir (the part of Kashmir under Pakistan protection) reached Musaffarabad for the march across the cease-fire line. Raja Haider Khan, former Defence Minister, of Azad Kashmir and Sardar Abdul Qaiyam Khan, ex-President of the Kashmir Government, were arrested while they were leading groups of volunteers."
Dispatch by own correspondent in The Times London, 28 June 1958
"Kashmir Liberation' Leader Rearrested
"Karachi, 29 June-Chaudhir Ghulam Abbas, leader of the 'Kashmir Liberation Movement', who was arrested on Friday, was released today but detained again soon afterwards on his way to make a second attempt to cross the cease-fire line between Indian and Pakistan troops in Kashmir.-Reuter."
The Times, London 30 June 1958
Kashmir March Begins
"Pakistani Group Attempting a Peaceful Invasion
"Rawalpindi, Pakistan, 27 June (AP)-The Pakistan Police hauled away demonstrators by the hundreds today in an effort to break up a peaceful invasion of India-held Kashmir which Pakistan claims.
"But a spokesman for the 'Kashmir Liberation Movement' said that 120 volunteers had reached the border between the Indian and Pakistani parts of Kashmir and that 5,000 more were marching to join them for a border crossing tomorrow at Chenari. No violence was reported."
The New York Times,
28 June 1958
"Pakistan Black Kashmir March
"Rawalpindi Pakistan, 28 June (AP)-Police battled for five hours today with more than a thousand Pakistani volunteers attempting a peaceful invasion of Indian-held Kashmir. More than 200 were reported injured. The clash occurred on the road to Srinagar at Chenari. Police charged repeatedly with batons and threatened to fire on the unarmed volunteers, who are members of the Kashmir Liberation Movement. The volunteers defied the police by lying in the road and daring the police to shoot.
"Pakistan claims Kashmir and has long been in dispute with India over it. While the Government is sympathetic with the aims of the movement, it announced last week that the march on Kashmir was banned."
New York Herald Tribune, 29 June 1958
"On an Uneasy Border
"A good example of the determination to avoid trouble, or possible, has recently been given on the uneasy border of the cease-fire line between Pakistan and India in Kashmir. On several occasions Pakistan has taken vigorous measures to prevent a march of Pakistani 'Liberation Volunteers' across the line. The highest officials in Pakistan have declared that they will countenance such action and will use force, if necessary, to prevent it.
"This was a hard decision to make and the Pakistanis are to be congratulated on the firmness of their position. These Liberatian' marchers are actually asking precisely what Pakistan has urged from the beginning, a free plebiscite of Kashmiris to determine their political future. With such a goal the Government of Pakistan is in entire agreement. Moreover, the marchers have insisted that they proposed only a 'peaceful' demonstration.
"Manifestly, the Karachi Government felt that this could not be risked. 'Peaceful' demonstrations have gone out many times before this, and the Kashmir cease-fire border is explosive. Any sort of 'invasion' might supply the spark.
"Pakistan and India have agreed to a cease-fire line founding the final settlement of Kashmir's status. There have been frequent charges and countercharges of violations, but the line in the main has been held, Pakistan has now stopped the most serious threat of a real violation in a mass movement. This is an evidence of good faith that should be taken into account as the case is further considered. It argues still further for the free plebiscite in Kashmir that is the only honourable basis for a solution to the conflict."
(Source: UN Document no. S/4095)
The New York Times, 13 July 1958