United Nations Security Council Resolution 39 was adopted on 20 January 1948. The Council established a commission (made up of one member chosen by India, one chosen by Pakistan, and one chosen by the two existing members) to assist in the peaceful resolution of the situation in Kashmir.
The commission established by Resolution 39 was dispatched to Kashmir to address the allegations made by India in a letter from 1 January and by Pakistan in a submission from 15 January.
Pakistan's allegations were wide-ranging, including that India was attempting to undo partition, committing a genocide against muslims in East Punjab, Delhi, and other areas, forcefully occupying Junagadh, had occupied Jammu and Kashmir through "fraud and violence", and had threatened Pakistan with direct military action.[1]
The British delegation sought to persuade India to accept an impartial administration in Kashmir under the United Nations (UN). The administration was to be led by a neutral chairman, and Kashmir was to be under a joint military occupation led by a neutral commander-in-chief, both appointed by the UN. These efforts were not supported by the United States.[3][4][5] No move was made to create the commission until after the passage of Resolution 47.[6] Eleven weeks passed before the commission was formed and dispatched to the Indian subcontinent.
The British delegation also sought to persuade India to accept an impartial administration in Kashmir under the auspices of the UN. The administration was to be headed by a "neutral" Chairman and Kashmir was to be under a joint military occupation under a neutral Commander-in-Chief appointed by the UN. The United States did not support these far-reaching proposals.
The UN diplomat Josef Korbel later had words of criticism for the delay in forming the UN commission. During the winter months, the fighting had reduced to small skirmishes. Korbel opined that the arrival of the commission before the fighting renewed in the summer months could have had a dampening effect. When the commission eventually got down to work, the political and military situation was quite different from what it had been in January–April 1948.[7]
It was later discovered that a contributory factor for the delay was Pakistan's failure to nominate its representative on the UN commission until 30 April 1948.[8]
↑ Ankit, Britain and Kashmir (2013, p.278) quotes Noel-Baker stating "The fact that Van Langenhove is largely guided by us is not known... and we take every precaution to ensure that it is not known."
↑ Blinkenberg, Lars (1972), India-Pakistan: The history of unsolved conflicts, Munksgaard, ISBN978-87-16-01110-7 , p. 121, note 30: "Pakistan had not yet appointed her nominee to the Commission, which took place only on April 30, 1948. This was one of the reasons for the delay in sending out UNCIP, which was severely criticized by Korbel."
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