In an Open letter to Mr Donald Trump, the President of the United States of America, Sikh organisation Dal Khalsa seeks immediate and unsolicited intervention to resolve the status of Kashmir, calling it an international dispute and not a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan. Dal Khalsa supports the Kashmiri right to self-determination and denounces the move of the government of India to abrogate Article 370 and Article 35A, converting the whole region as a prison for Kashmiris and cutting off Kashmir from the rest of the world.

DEAR DONALD TRUMP: Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh! As a Sikh organisation dedicated to the right of self-determination of all peoples, Dal Khalsa writes to you to express our continuing concern regarding the political status of Indian-administered Kashmir and the resulting geopolitical situation in South Asia as a result of the Indo-Pak tensions over the Kashmir dispute.

We endorse the Kashmiris’ unequivocal right to self-determination and stand-in solidarity with them in this hour of extreme stress and strain.

India’s retrograde step to convert the state into a union territory is not only an assault on the territorial status of the region but also a concerted attempt to revert to the pre-1953 status of Kashmir, clearly carried out to evade India’s international obligations and subjugate the people of Kashmir.

Mr President, your offer for mediation twice in the last two weeks attains significance as it is quite evident from the history of the last seven decades that India and Pakistan cannot resolve the issue bilaterally and hardly any effort has ever been made to make Kashmir and pro-Kashmiri leaders a part of the conflict-resolution process.

With the United Nations reiterating that the Kashmir status remains unchanged combined with the souring of diplomatic ties between the two countries, it is time for the United States to lead the campaign for mediation as any delay can be disastrous.

Mr President, your offer for mediation twice in the last two weeks attains significance as it is quite evident from the history of the last seven decades that India and Pakistan cannot resolve the issue bilaterally and hardly any effort has ever been made to make Kashmir and pro-Kashmiri leaders a part of the conflict-resolution process.

As the people of Punjab are entrenched in this theatre of war in South Asia, we are deeply concerned and desire that the US should take up mediation in full earnest because both the nuclear-power countries -India and Pakistan, are only a spark away from igniting a battle which can plunge the entire region into a war.

As geographical neighbours of Kashmir, we share political boundaries with the two countries and we are going to be double victims as India does not see kindly towards Punjab too.

Today, Kashmir is on the brink of a political and military catastrophe. An all-round attack on the people and their rights is evident to all. Sikhs of Punjab believe that the United States should not wait another day and launch a peace offensive of mediation and intervention as India’s iron curtain continues to separate the region from the rest of the world.

The people of Kashmir are on the fringe. Fear, scare, bullets and bayonets stare them in their face and once the army-imposed curfews are lifted, the Kashmiri peoples’ protests are likely to take a gargantuan posture, making it impossible for India to handle except with the brute might of the Indian military aimed at maiming and killing.

Dal Khalsa strongly believes that as a leader of the world, America cannot afford to wait any longer.

Dal Khalsa is of the firm opinion that, it is time for the United States of America to intervene and make a serious attempt to resolve the bitter and prolonged disputes with UN intervention in the Security Council and tripartite mediation at a political level, between India, Pakistan and the Kashmiris.

A hapless India wants the United States to pressure Pakistan to neutralize terror camps in Pakistan administered Kashmir. India wants the US to launch an international campaign to designate Azhar Masood as ‘global terrorist’. India wants the US to pressurize Pakistan to detain LeT chief Hafiz Saeed. But ironically India doesn’t want US mediation to end bloodbath and loss of human lives across the spectrum in Kashmir.

India’s arrogance and annihilation war against the Kashmiris leading to continuous bloodshed and state terror on Kashmiris is a living proof of India treating the Kashmir dispute only as a law and order problem and not as a conflict which has regional and international repercussions and requires serious and immediate mediation.

As a leader of the world, America should intervene without delay. The US cannot afford to wait any longer.

Harpal Singh Cheema, President Dal Khalsa

Dal Khalsa is of the firm opinion that, it is time for the United States of America to intervene and make a serious attempt to resolve the bitter and prolonged disputes with UN intervention in the Security Council and tripartite mediation at a political level, between India, Pakistan and the Kashmiris.

As you have taken the initiative to offer mediation, we see the hope that you would actually, make a strong political intervention and ensure peace in South Asia, as this entire region beyond Afghanistan stands on the threshold of war.

Sincerely

Harpal Singh Cheema
President, Dal Khalsa