ISLAMABAD: Former Norwe­gian prime minister Kjell Magne Bondevik on Sunday said that there was no doubt that human rights were being violated in India-held Kashmir and urged the international community to play its role in defusing the tension between India and Pakistan triggered by the Pulwama incident.

Speaking to journalists along with Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Sardar Masood Khan at Kashmir House, he said that whenever India was asked by various nations to address the Kashmir issue it said it was a bilateral issue.

“If [for the sake of argument] it is a bilateral issue, still dialogue should be started between the two countries over the issue of Kashmir. There cannot be military solution to the Kashmir dispute and, therefore, both parties should start a dialogue,” he suggested.

He appealed to both countries to calm down the situation, adding that the United Nations had passed a number of resolutions about Kashmir as human rights were being violated there.

Both countries urged to start dialogue

“I suggest both countries should avoid use of force and find a peaceful solution to the issue. The international community should also play its role in addressing the matter,” he said.

In reply to a question about the Kashmiri people’s right to retaliate since they were facing repression at the hands of the Indian army, the Norwegian leader said that violence was not a solution to the problem and ­whereever it was used it was condemnable.

Speaking on the occasion, the Azad Kashmir president said that although the United Nations report on the violation of human rights in India-held Kashmir was appreciable, the UN needed to do much more to resolve this long dispute.

“Currently, the region is on the verge of a war. Mr Bondevik is a ­neutral person and he wants to address the issue of Kashmir and we appreciate his efforts and intentions,” Mr Khan said.

He said that a political movement was going on in the held valley and there was no doubt that Kashmir was a ­disputed territory.

“The region cannot become peaceful unless the root cause is addressed and India should not deny the right of self-determination to the people of Kashmir,” he said.

He said that Indian statements after the Pulwama attack had increased the tension in the region.

The AJK president said that India had increased killings in occupied Kashmir and during the past ­couple of days it had arrested over 200 ­people.

He said India’s efforts to plunge the two countries into war just for the sake of winning elections would be a great folly and New Delhi should restrain from carrying out any sort of aggression as it could ­engulf itself in flames.

The tyranny India was committing against Kashmiris was a major issue than the Pulwama incident, he remarked.

He said he wanted to tell India that diplomacy was a better medium to address the Kashmir issue.

The AJK president said the entire foreign media and parliaments, especially the European Union ­Parliament, were raising their voice for the Kashmir issue and no amount of Indian repression could stop the freedom struggle of Kashmiris.

Published in Dawn, February 25th, 2019