Kashmir issue needs to be resolved, says Eduardo

Kashmir issue needs to be resolved, says Eduardo
HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, JUNE 9
Kashmir issue needs to be resolved at the earliest for the unity and peace in South Asia, Commissioner for NRIs Affairs and former Union Minister Eduardo Faleiro said on Wednesday.
Faleiro was speaking as keynote speaker at a function organised to mark the 125th year of foundation of the Congress party.
In his address, Faleiro said that for peace and nuclear-free south Asia the Kashmir issue has to be resolved at the earliest as both India and Pakistan are nuclear states.
“Both India and Pakistan are nuclear states and any war could result into bloodbath in both countries,” he said while speaking on the topic Nuclear Disarmament.
Speaking further, he said, Action Plan for a Non-Violent World Order free of Nuclear Weapons was presented by Rajiv Gandhi to the General Assembly of the United Nations on June 9, 1988.
“The Plan proposed that nuclear weapons should be eliminated globally by the year 2010, however, his dream could not be converted into reality although substantial progress has been made in this regard,” he stated.
Further, Faleiro said, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has reiterated in Parliament that universal nuclear disarmament remains a core objective of India’s foreign policy.
“Removal of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction appear now to be a global concern. US President Barrack Obama has pledged to pursue the elimination of nuclear weapons and for this reason he was awarded the Noble Peace Prize,” the former minister said adding “As US is the only nuclear power to have used the nuclear weapon and as such it has a moral responsibility to act.”
Last April, he continued, the presidents of the United States and Russia signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty which will reduce by one third the number of long range warheads deployed by the world’s two largest nuclear powers.
The Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement signed last year will contribute greatly to meet the energy requirements of our rapidly expanding economy, Faleiro stated.
Goa Pradesh Congress Committee President Subash Shirodkar, MLA Pratap Gauns, Planning Board chairman Dr Wilfred D’Souza were also present on the occasion besides the Congress office bearers and members.