The Reminiscences of Zafrulla Khan — Page 191
175 REMINISCENCES OF SIR MUHAMMAD ZAFRULLA KHAN Whether the Prime Minister of India made these assertions and charges because he was confused over the dates, or because knowing the dates, he thought it would create some feeling against Pakistan, I do not know. I have stated the facts to clear up the situation as far as the dates were concerned. The Commission found themselves confronted with this new element in a problem that was already complicated. They discussed matters with us in Karachi, and then they went to Delhi, and they did that several times. In the end they produced what is known as "The Commission's Resolution of the 13th of August, 1948," which the Government of India accepted. The Government of Pakistan did not reject it, but intimated to the Commission that the resolution stopped halfway. It sought to stop the fighting that was going on but it did not spell out the obligations of the parties with regard to the plebiscite. That consideration must have appealed to the Commission, for it began to work on the second part and eventually towards the end of December they presented their second resolution which is known as the "Resolution of the 5th of January, 1949. " It was presented to the representatives of both sides in Paris because the Assembly session was taking place in Paris, and the Commission was also working in Paris. Both governments accepted it within two or three days of each other during the last days of December, 1948. The Resolution is dated the 5th of January, 1949, but in pursuance of that resolution, the ceasefire was agreed upon on the 31st of December and was put into effect on the 1st of January, 1949. Then the Commission gathered together again in the early part of the year in Delhi and asked both sides to send their representatives to meet it in Delhi so that the Truce Agreement could be settled. At the meeting in Delhi the Commission asked our representatives whether they had a plan for implementation of the first part of the resolution with regard to the withdrawal of Pakistani Armed Forces from the Azad Kashmir side and the withdrawal of the bulk of the Indian forces from the Indian-occupied side of the ceasefire line. They had their plan ready and they submitted it to the Commission. They asked the Indian side whether they had a plan ready, and they said they had but it had not yet been submitted to the Commander-in-Chief who was out of Delhi and there would be a delay of a day or two.