01051958  Letter dated 1 May 1958 from the representative of India Arthur S. Lall, to the President of the Security Council

Letter dated 1 May 1958 from the representative of India Arthur S. Lall, to the President of the Security Council

1. I am instructed by the Government of India to refer to a letter dated 11 April 1958 from the acting permanent representative of Pakistan to the President of the Security Council [S/3987] and to state that the allegations made therein are baseless and are a travesty of the truth. These allegations are a part of the campaign of hatred and calumny against India which the Government of Pakistan has, in violation of the resolution of the Security Council dated 17 January 1948 and Pakistan's subsequent commitments, been conducting without abatement.

2. As the Council is aware, Pakistan committed aggression against the Indian territory of Jammu and Kashmir and has consolidated this aggression in violation of the Council's resolution dated 17 January 1948. The resolution of the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan dated 13 August 1948 [S/1100, para. 75] requires the Government of Pakistan to cease this aggression. Instead of carrying out its obligations under this resolution and bringing its policy and action in accord with the provisions of the United Nations Charter, the Government of Pakistan is, by its irrelevant and wrong references to the resolution of the Commission dated 5 January 1949 [S/1196, para. 15], which is supplementary to the resolution of 13 August 1948, seeking to justify its interference in the internal affairs of India, the retention of the gains of its aggression and its further aggression on Indian territory.

3. Except for the area of the Jammu and Kashmir State which is unlawfully occupied by Pakistan by force, the State, as a part of the Federal Union of India, enjoys parliamentary and democratic liberties ensured under the Indian Constitution by the States. There is a Legislature elected by adult suffrage and a Government responsible to that Legislature. This Government has been formed by the National Conference Party of the Jammu and Kashmir State which has a considerable majority in the Legislature. The opposition parties in the State have freedom to criticize and comment on the activities of the Government. Indian and Foreign newspapers have their correspondents there and they have been reporting freely.

4. For many months past, as was pointed out by India's representative in the Security Council, a deliberate campaign of subversion and sabotage in the State has been organized from Pakistan, resulting in a large number of bomb outrages in. which many persons were killed, many more injured and considerable property was destroyed. The allegation that all kinds of excesses are being committed against the civilian population is wholly untrue. The local authorities are, in the interests of maintaining law and order, constrained to take action against those who participate in sabotage and subversive activities organised by the Government of Pakistan.

5. There are thirty-five persons in detention in Jammu and Kashmir at present. The police have, in addition, arrested some seventy-two persons for murder or rioting and other offences. These persons are in judicial custody as under-trials. The allegation that the number of arrested persons amounts to thousands is entirely false and baseless.

6. District magistrates in three of the districts have, in view of the breaches of the peace that have occurred due to the campaign of sabotage and rioting organised from Pakistan, promulgated rule 50 of the Jammu and Kashmir Defence Rules in order to prevent lawlessness, acts of violence and rioting. This rule requires permission to be obtained for meetings and processions. There is no ban on religious gatherings. Those committing a breach of this rule are dealt with under the processes of the law.

7. In spite of the subversive and sabotage activities engineered by Pakistan, life in Jammu and Kashmir is normal. The tourist season has started and hundreds of visitors, including a large number of foreigners, go to Kashmir daily. Local festivals were recently celebrated with great enthusiasm on 13 and 21 April and thousands of people of all communities, as also some foreign tourists, participated in these celebrations.

8. Not content with their aggression and forcible occupation of part of the Jammu and Kashmir State, their consistent campaign of calumny and vilification against the Government of India and of subversion and sabotage against the legally constituted Government of the Jammu and Kashmir State, the Government of Pakistan have made these false allegations and have referred to non-existent Sikh and Hindu organizations. Presumably this is meant to cover up the reign of terror that prevails in the Pakistan-occupied area of Jammu and Kashmir.

9. In the area of the Jammu and Kashmir State, forcibly and unlawfully occupied by Pakistan, there have been no elections of any kind and there are no democratic rights or civil liberties. They have no legislature, no dependent judiciary, much less a free press. Evidence of this has been provided by the leaders of these unfortunate people themselves and is available in the records of the Security Council. Protests by local editors against the suppression of civil liberties, by public leaders against exploitation of their natural resources for the benefit of Pakistan and their repeated demands for an opportunity to exercise self-determination and choose a Government which represents them and not the invader, have been completely ignored. Political corruption and deterioration of law. and order and general administration in Pakistan, to which pointed attention was drawn by President Iskander Mirza in his Republic Day speech, are particularly evident in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. According to a recent issue of "Tanzeem '', a newspaper of that area, 10,000 people in several villages are facing starvation.

10. I am instructed by the Government of India to request that this letter may be circulated to the members of the Security Council.

(Signed) ARTHUR S. LALL

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations

(Source: UN Document No. S/3999)