M A I N   N E W S

Annan’s no to UN resolution on Kashmir

Islamabad, March 11
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has ruled out implementation of the UN resolution on Kashmir or a separate UN Human Rights Commission for Kashmir, saying a lasting solution to the problem lay in the implementation of the Lahore declaration. “I call upon both India and Pakistan to retain the spirit of the Lahore declaration. This will require restraint, wisdom and constructive steps from both sides,”  Mr Annan told newsmen at the Chaklala airbase on his arrival here on the first leg of his four-nation visit to South Asia last night.

Answering a question on why the UN resolution on Kashmir could not be implemented on the lines of the resolution on East Timor, Mr Annan said there were two types of UN resolutions.

“The UN resolutions that come under chapter 7 of the charter were self-enforcing like those related to East Timor and Iraq. The second type of resolutions which do not fall in the purview of chapter 7 needed cooperation of the concerned parties for their implementation.

“The UN resolutions on Kashmir do not fall in the category of chapter 7 and hence required cooperation of the concerned parties for their implementation and in this case it is lacking,” he said.

Later addressing a press conference after meeting Pakistan’s military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf and Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar, Mr Annan said India and Pakistan should continue their efforts to start a new dialogue.

He said both countries had engaged with each other in the past which enabled them to sign the Lahore Declaration. PTI