The Simla Agreement of 1972 is also to be noted while finding a final settlement to the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Charter, according to Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesperson for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Farhan Haq highlighted the importance of considering the Simla Agreement in reaching a final resolution to the Kashmir conflict between India and the Pakistan.
"We maintain our stance on Kashmir: The resolution of the conflict must be achieved peacefully, following the United Nations Charter and upholding human rights," he stated. He also mentions the 1972 agreement between India and Pakistan, which is also referred to as the Simla Agreement.
The agreement was made in Shimla by Indira Gandhi, who was the Prime Minister of India, and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was the President of Pakistan at the time, following the Bangladesh War of Independence.
The two countries agreed that disputes, including those over Kashmir, were to be resolved directly without the interference of third parties.
Haq was responding to a query during the regular UN press conference by a Palestinian reporter who claimed that the UN had not spoken out about the "crimes carried out over the last five years" after Article 370 of India's Constitution, granting special status to Kashmir, was removed on August 5, 2019.
According to Haq, the UN's stance is determined by the United Nations Charter and relevant Security Council resolutions.
A resolution passed on April 21, 1948, mandates the Pakistani government to remove tribesmen and Pakistani nationals who entered Jammu and Kashmir for fighting, and to stop any further intrusion or support to fighters in the State.
Although Pakistanis and their supporters cite the Security Council resolution asking for a plebiscite to be held in Kashmir, they ignore the Council’s demand that Pakistan withdraw from the occupied areas. Under that resolution, Pakistan is also forbidden to aid terrorists in Kashmir.
India maintains that given Pakistan’s failure to abide by the resolution a plebiscite is moot and the people of Kashmir have instead been able to voice their preference through participation in elections there.
