Dispute Over Kashmir

In his column, “Bellicose Habits That Can Lead to War” (Commentary, March 20), Edward Luttwak has made an outlandish and incorrect remark about Pakistan’s “escalated armed intrusion into Kashmir, while its president has boasted of her immediate readiness to fight India.” Contrary to Luttwak’s claim, Pakistan is not the source of the problem in the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is India, which, in total defiance of the world opinion and in contravention of its long-standing commitment to holding a plebiscite in Kashmir, has been suppressing the struggle for freedom. Pakistan has only lent its diplomatic and political support to this struggle, which is not only morally just but purely indigenous in character.

It is also incorrect to say that the prime minister and the president of Pakistan have “boasted” of readiness to fight India. Far from threatening war, Pakistani leaders have repeatedly called upon India to end its atrocities in Kashmir and to settle the dispute peacefully in accordance with the U.N. Security Council resolutions calling for a plebiscite. Ignoring these reasonable entreaties, India continues to try to bludgeon the people of Kashmir into submission and in the process perpetuates a human rights tragedy.

SYED RIFAAT HUSSAIN

Minister (Press)

Embassy of Pakistan

Washington