BEIJING: A Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson said on Friday that China’s position on the Kashmir issue was clear and consistent and called for resolution of the longstanding dispute peacefully through dialogue and consultations for the regional peace and stability.
On the issue of Kashmir, China’s position is clear and consistent. This is an issue leftover from history between India and Pakistan and this is also shared view of the international community, Hua Chunying said during his regular briefing in response to a question.
Friday marked the third anniversary of India’s unilateral actions in Occupied Kashmir, violating the United Nations (UN) resolutions on the disputed territory.
The spokesperson said that three years ago, actually the Chinese side already stated that there should be restraint and prudence for relevant parties.
Especially, the parties should avoid taking unilateral actions to change the status quo or to escalate tensions, she added.
We call on both parties to resolve the dispute through dialogue and consultation peacefully for the region to remain peaceful and stable, she said.
On August 5, 2019, the Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party government had struck down Articles 370 and 35-A of the Indian constitution, thereby scrapping the law that granted Kashmir its special status.
Meanwhile, in a recent statement, Cheng Xizhong, Visiting Professor of Southwest University of Political Science and Law said that the Kashmir issue was the core obstacle to the normalization of relations between India and Pakistan and to peace and stability in the South Asian Sub continent.
He said, India changed the status of Kashmir on August 5, 2019, which further complicated the Kashmir issue. Therefore, the key to normalizing India-Pakistan relations was for India to take the initiative to immediately restore the original status of Kashmir.
Prof Cheng, who is also a senior fellow of the Charhar Institute, opined that the international community should take strong and concerted actions, forcing India to immediately halt and reverse unilateral and all illegal actions it has taken in IIOJK and fulfill its obligations under the relevant UNSC resolutions.
He suggested that first, the UNSC should pay more close attention to India’s unilateral and illegal actions in IIOJK, which were seriously endangering regional peace; second, because India has seriously violated the fundamental human rights of the Kashmiri people, all international human rights organizations should continue to put pressure on India; third, all countries responsible for world peace, especially big powers, should impose the most severe sanctions on India, forcing the Narendra Modi regime to rectify its evil ways with strong measures.
The Kashmiris have the full right to decide their own destiny. The Kashmiris should have the final say on the Kashmir issue.
I firmly believe that the Kashmiri people who have been fighting for national self-determination for decades will win the final victory, he added. –Agencies
