Resolving Kashmir dispute

Conference on Resolving Kashmir dispute

The following press release about resolving the Kashmir dispute is conflict loaded. As an Indian, and as a Subcontinentian striving to foster goodwill amongst the people of subcontinent in my own little way, I find the following sentence to be offensive and a detriment to dialogue.

'Dr. Fai pointed out that the Kashmiri-Americans have noted that the rulers of India and Pakistan have realized that the status quo in Hindu Occupied Kashmir is NOT an option'

Mr. Fai, I applaud your efforts to find resolution to the conflict, however the words “Hindu occupied” are not the right words , the communal overtones will not be appreciated by any one including Kashmiris, Pakistanis and Indians regardless of their faith.

Furthermore, in the interests of human security, that is security and well being of each individual, we should form government of the people, by the people for the people and not theocratic states. The world would have loved an Islamic state or Ram Rajya if it were run by Shri Ram or Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), since it is not possible, we should not have religion based governance, as it will invariably fall into the hands of wrong dudes and each one of the 7 billion of us stands the chance of being persecuted. No more theocratic states and all of should speak up.

Mr. Fai, I urge you* to employ the words that will open the doors of friendship and not aggravate the situation. Every conflict, war, genocide and destruction begins with the wrong choice of words. Let the wrong words not mar the dialogue and become a barrier to the solution.

The saving grace for the conference would be the presence of Mr. Jatinder Bakshi, Chairman, Action Committee for the Return of Kashmiri Pundits. Every human in Kashmir must be included for a long term sustainable solution.

In the 3rd International women's peace conference going on in Dallas, I spoke with one of the speakers from a war torn nation that witnessed genocide. Her mother, father and some of her relatives were mercilessly butchered by the Milsovac murderers and yet, She has made inner peace by forgiving the evil doers. I beleive peace starts with each one of us, We cannot bring peace unless we have peace within us. When we are peaceful, we get blessed with the strenght and gain momentum to influence positive outcome for the good of humankind and our words would drive us towards solutions.

I wish to see a practical, acceptable and workable resolution from the conference. Like Millions of the Subcontinentians, it is also my dream to see our region become an international trade zone to bring peace, prosperity and progress for every Citizen of the subcontinent.

*We have met at the University of Denver at Boulder campus in 2001. I was speaking on the South Asian affairs and your topic was Kashmir .

You are welcome to post your practical solutions (no rhetoric please) at the end of : http://mikeghouse.sulekha.com/blog/post/2007/07/kashmir-dispute-conference.htm

Mike Ghouse is a Speaker, Thinker, Writer and a Moderator. He is president of the Foundation for Pluralism and is a frequent guest on talk radio, discussing interfaith, political and civic issues. He founded the World Muslim Congress with a simple theme: "good for Muslims and good for the world." His personal Website is www.MikeGhouse.net and his articles can be found on the Websites mentioned above and in his Blogs: http://MikeGhouseforAmerica.Blogspot.com and http://MikeGhouse.Sulekha.com . He can be reached at MikeGhouse@gmail.com. Mike lives in Carrollton with his family and has been a Dallasite since 1980
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Resolving Kashmir Dispute: Innovative Models

Chief Editor: Journalist SYED ADEEB
http://www.InformPress.com
Association of Humanitarian Lawyers (AHL) - http://www.humanlaw.org and
Kashmiri American Council - http://www.kashmiri.com (KAC) - Kashmir Center (KC)

Invite you to the 7th INTERNATIONAL KASHMIR CONFERENCE
Day, Date & Time: THURSDAY, 26 JULY 2007 - 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.

KASHMIR ROUNDTABLE FORUM

Subject: "Resolving Kashmir Dispute: Learning From Other Disputes"
Day, Date & Time: FRIDAY, 27 JULY 2007 - 8 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Location: Gold Room
Rayburn House Office Building of the United States Congress Independence Avenue & New Jersey Avenue Nearest Metro: Capitol South, Orange/Blue Lines. Washington DC, USA

(InformPress.com) - Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Executive Director of the Washington-based Kashmiri American Council (KAC) - Kashmir Center (KC) said Friday that the preparations are underway for the International Kashmir Conference. He said that the primary objective of this Conference is to explore all possible options to settle the issue of Kashmir to the satisfaction of all three parties: Pakistan , India and all peoples of all areas of the entire State of Jammu & Kashmir including Azad Kashmir.

Dr. Fai pointed out that the Kashmiri-Americans have noted that the rulers of India and Pakistan have realized that the status quo in Hindu Occupied Kashmir is NOT an option . He hopes that the Indo-Pak regimes would also recognize that there can be NO peaceful negotiated settlement of the Kashmir conflict without the full and active participation of the legitimate and accredited leadership of the people of Kashmir in the Kashmir liberation process.

Dr. Fai said that the following Kashmiri, Pakistani, Indian and American speakers have confirmed to address the International Kashmir Conference at the Rayburn House Office Building of the U.S. Congress (Gold Room) in Washington DC , USA on Thursday, 26 July 2007 during 8
AM to 6 PM :



1. Mr. Laar Mart, former Prime Minister of Estonia;

2. Prof. Kamal Chenoy, Jawahar Lal Nehru University , New Delhi ;

3. Prof. Robert Wirsing, Honolulu , Hawaii ;

4. Amb. Dennis Kux, Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars;

5. Dr. Rodney Jones, President, Policy Architects International;

6. Prof. Emilio Asti, Scholar of Oriental Culture, Catholic University , Rome ;

7. Mr. Mahmud Ali Durrani, Pakistan Army envoy to the USA ;

8. Mr. Kenneth Ballen, President, Terror Free Tomorrow;

9. Ms.Sherry Rehman, Information Secretary , Pakistan Peoples Party;

10. Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan, Prime Minister, Azad Kashmir;

11. Mr. Praful Bidwai, Columnist, New Delhi ;

12. Mr. Jatinder Bakshi, Chairman, Committee for the Return of the Kashmiri Pandits;

13. Mr. Ved Bhasin, Kashmir Times;
14. Prof. Angana Chatterji, California Institute of Integral Studies;
14. Dr. Pushpa Iyer, George Mason University ;

15. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Chairman, All Parties Hurriyet Conference of Jammu & Kashmir;

16. Mr. Yasin Malik, Chairman, Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front;

17. Dr. Attia Inaytullah, Member , Pakistan National Assembly, Islamabad ;

18. Mr. T. Kumar, Amnesty International, USA ;

19. Ambassador Yusuf Buch, former Senior Advisor to the UN Secretary General;

20. Barrister Abdul Majeed Tramboo, Executive Director, Kashmir Center , Brussels ;

21. Professor Nazir A. Shawl, Executive Director, Justice Foundation/ Kashmir Center , London ;

22. Mian Abdul Qayyum, Chairman, Kashmir Bar Association;

23. Mr. Shabir Ahmed Shah, President, Jammu Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party;

24. Mr. Zahid G. Mohammad, Columnist, Greater Kashmir ;

25. Dr. Ghulam Nabi Mir, President, World Kashmir Freedom Movement, USA ;

26. Prof. Bishnu Poudel, National Council of South Asian Studies;

27. Mr. Lars Rise, Norway ;

28. Dr. Waleed Rasool, All Parties Hurriyet Conference, Azad Kashmir;

29. Mr. Mohammad Akbar Chaudhry, Minister, Azad Kashmir;

30. Mr. Ali Adnan Ibrahim, Georgetown University ;

31. Dr. Khawaja M. Ashraf, President, Pakistani American Congress;

32. Mr. Bob Giuda, Legislator, New Hampshire ;

33. Mr. Ali S. Khan, Executive Director, Kashmiri Scandinavian Council, Norway ; and many others.




Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai has urged all Americans interested in real democracy, human rights, civil liberties, equal justice, rule of just & fair laws, peace and stability in the region of South Asia to attend this historic meeting about the Kashmir issue. Admission to the Kashmir Conference is free and open to all but registration is urged.

For more information, CONTACT:

Mr. David Wolfe or Ms. Chuluun: Telephone: 202-628-6789 /
202-628-6788 / 202-607-6585. Fax: 202-393-0062 / 703-295-8683. E-Mail:
kashmirconference@yahoo.com

Kashmiri American Council (KAC) - Kashmir Center (KC)
1111 16th Street, NW, Suite 420, Washington DC 20036 USA
E-Mail: info@kashmiri.com
Website: http://www.kashmiri.com

Self-Determination Basic Principle For Kashmir Solution: Dr. Ghulam
Nabi Fai

Taipei, Taiwan, 13 July 2007 (ReportPress.com - KMSnews.org -
KashmirWatch.com): Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Executive Director of the
Washington-based Kashmiri American Council (KAC) - Kashmir Center
(KC), has pointed out that self-determination is the basic principle
of decolonisation as enshrined in several resolutions of the United
Nations and judgement of International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Dr. Fai stated this while addressing a conference on "Changing Global
Scenario and Peoples' Right to Freedom", a forum sponsored by the
Youth For Global Justice. Over 300 eminent persons attended the
seminar.

Dr. Fai elaborated that the self-determination of the peoples is a key
principle of the United Nations Charter, which had been reaffirmed in
the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and applied many times to
the settlement of various international disputes.

"The applicability of the self-determination principle to the specific
case of Jammu and Kashmir has been explicitly recognized by the United
Nations," Dr. Fai said. "It was upheld equally by both India and
Pakistan when the Kashmir dispute was brought before the UN Security
Council."

Dr. Fai reminded the audience that the idea of a referendum in the
State Jammu & Kashmir, promised to all the people of Kashmir by the
United Nations, should be implemented now, without derogation, to
determine the future and final status of the Jammu & Kashmir State.

"The sole condition is that the elections in Kashmir should be
completely free from undue pressure, rigging or intimidation and the
Kashmir referendum must be held under the control and supervision of a
neutral and impartial United Nations or international agency," he
added.

Dr. Fai reiterated that any sincere and serious effort towards a fair
& just settlement of the Kashmir conflict must squarely deal with the
realities of the situation on the ground and fully respond to the
Kashmiri people's human rights.

Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai advised that our objective should be to find the
correct or best solution of the Kashmir dispute through South Asian
and international dialogues on Kashmir among the people of Kashmir,
Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, China, Iran and all other member-
countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
(SAARC). "In other words, it should by itself neither exclude nor
preclude any rational settlement of the Kashmir issue, be it accession
to Pakistan or total independence of Kashmir," he said.

- Kashmiri Conference Adopts Washington declaration - http://www.humanlaw.org/kashmirstatement.html
- Kashmir Media Service (KMS) http://www.kmsnews.org
- Kashmir Watch - http://www.kashmirwatch.com
- Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF - AK Group) http://www.jklfworld.org
- Government of Azad Jammu & Kashmir http://www.ajk.gov.pk/main/index.html