*Kashmir’s Broken Promise: 78 Years After the UNCIP Resolution*

By Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai
Chairman, World Forum for Peace & Justice : Published by ANI

Seventy-eight years after the United Nations called for the future of Jammu and Kashmir to be determined in accordance with the will of its people, the promise remains unfulfilled, Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Chairman of the World Forum for Peace & Justice, said.
In a statement marking the anniversary of the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) Resolution of August 13, 1948, Fai said the occasion was not merely a date in diplomatic history but a reminder of an international commitment that had remained unrealized for nearly eight decades.
He said the UNCIP resolution established the principle that the future status of Jammu and Kashmir should be determined in accordance with the will of its people. According to Fai, the governments of India and Pakistan had accepted the relevant proposals in writing, while the United Nations subsequently remained engaged in efforts to create conditions for a plebiscite.
Fai recalled statements made before the UN Security Council by Indian representatives, including Sir Gopalaswami Ayyangar, Sir Benegal Rama Rau and Mr. Setalvad, which, he argued, reflected India’s earlier recognition of the principle that the people of Jammu and Kashmir should have a say in determining their political future.
He also highlighted the historical positions of the United States and Britain in support of a UN-backed process, arguing that the Kashmir dispute could not be resolved unilaterally by either India or Pakistan.
Fai warned that the unresolved dispute continued to pose risks to regional stability, particularly because India and Pakistan are nuclear-armed states. He said repeated military crises demonstrated the dangers of leaving the political dispute unresolved.
“Arms-control measures, missile limitations and military confidence-building are important, but they cannot substitute for a political settlement,” he said, stressing that lasting peace in South Asia required addressing the underlying dispute.
He also expressed concern over changes in domicile rules and what he described as restrictions affecting freedom of expression, political participation, assembly, movement and independent journalism in Jammu and Kashmir. He argued that any credible exercise of self-determination would require conditions in which people could express their political preferences freely and without coercion or fear.
Fai called on the United Nations and the international community to revisit the historical record surrounding Kashmir and reaffirm their commitment to a peaceful and just settlement.
“The question before the world is no longer whether Kashmir was once the subject of international commitments. The historical record is unmistakable. The question is whether those commitments still have meaning,” he said.
He urged the international community to use the 78th anniversary of the UNCIP Resolution as an opportunity to renew diplomatic efforts toward a peaceful, just and durable settlement of the Kashmir dispute.