LAKE SUCCESS: The United Nations Com­mission for India and Pakistan today [Dec 12] recommended that the Security Council appoint a mediator to bring India and Pak­is­tan together on all unresolved issues over Kashmir. The Commission, in the third inte­rim report to the Security Council, expressed its doubts whether the five-member Com­mission was the “most flexible and desirable instrument to continue in the task”.

The Group suggested that the Security Council give one person “broad authority” … to bring India and Pakistan together “on all unresolved issues”. It suggested that the Council consult with representatives of India and Pakistan to agree on terms of reference for the Mediator — including consultation regarding the scope of his authority to settle … by arbitration those issues involved in the demilitarisation of … Jammu and Kashmir as may remain outstanding, which impede the creation of conditions for the plebiscite.

The Commission also recommended that the Security Council ask both India and Pakistan to “take any necessary precautions to secure that their agreements regarding the cease-fire be faithfully observed”.

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2024