The Kashmir dispute began with the creation in 1947 of the newly independent states of India and Pakistan, when the Hindu leader of the Muslim-majority princely state of Kashmir opted to accede to India as armed invaders from Pakistan were advancing on his capital, Srinagar. The resulting Indo-Pakistani war of 1947-48 divided the state, reflecting the status of forces on the ground. Since then, Pakistan has controlled “Azad” (Free) Kashmir and the adjacent Northern Areas, while India remained in control of two-thirds of the former princely state. The Karachi Agreement, signed by India and Pakistan in July 1949, formally established this cease-fire line (CFL) in Kashmir, which was supervised by a modest number of UN observers. In 1971, hostilities again broke out between India and Pakistan over the fate of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). In July 1972, India and Pakistan signed the Simla Agreement to end the third Indo-Pakistani war. Simla defined a Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir which, with minor deviations, followed the same path as the Karachi Agreement’s CFL. The Simla Agreement also called on both sides to respect the LoC “without prejudice to the recognized position of either side,” prohibited either side from unilaterally altering the LoC, and bound both countries “to refrain from threat or the use of force in violation of this Line.” The LoC is 720 kilometers long, running in a non-linear way over rugged terrain near Jammu in the southwest up to glacial heights of the Himalayas near China’s Sinkiang province in the northeast.

The world is facing terrorism due to lack of solving the international disputes. Kashmir Dispute is one of them and remain cureless because of international interest are lying behind this. The UN and America are battling the war against terrorism but why they could not comprehend that success will never achieved without solving core and such mature disputes.

If the Allies want to establish the peace and prosperity in the world, they should have to resolve the Palestine and Kashmir Issues according the resolution of UN as soon as possible.

Pakistan supports the movement of Kashmir morally and ethically, in this connection 5^th February has been celebrated for the sake of Kashmiri peoples and their mission of independence. It is pertinent to state the International Community should scrutinize the difference between terrorism and liberation as well they realized in East Timour.

                                                                                   Nadeem Ahmed Jamal