Kashmiris to observe Right to Self-Determination Day tomorrow

ISLAMABAD: Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control and the world over will observe Right to Self-Determination Day on Friday (tomorrow) with the pledge to continue their struggle till the achievement of their internationally acknowledged inalienable right.

The call for observance of the day has been given by the All Parties Hurriyat Conference.

The day will be marked by various activities including protest demonstrations, rallies, seminars and conferences in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and in all major capitals of the world to remind the United Nations that it must implement its relevant resolutions to settle the Kashmir dispute to save the Kashmiris from the Indian brutalities, the official news agency reported.

It was on the 5th of January in 1949 when the UN Security Council passed a resolution supporting the Kashmiris’ right to decide their future by themselves under a UN-supervised plebiscite.

Meanwhile, in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference leaders demanded of the UN to fulfill its obligations regarding settlement of the Kashmir dispute under its resolutions including the one passed on January 5, 1949.

According to Kashmir Media Service, they made the demand on the eve of the adoption of the UN resolution that guaranteed the Kashmiris’ right to self-determination.

The APHC leaders Syed Bashir Andrabi, Khawaja Firdous and Junaid-ud-Salam in a joint statement in Srinagar said that on January 5, 1949, the United Nations Commission for Pakistan and India (UNCIP) had passed a very important resolution, which granted the Kashmiris the right to decide their future by themselves. They said the Kashmiri people have rendered unparalleled sacrifices for securing their inalienable right and they are determined to continue their struggle till complete success.

They said that despite facing the brutal Indian occupation for the last over seven decades, the Kashmiris remain steadfast in their demand for holding of a plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir.

APHC leader Advocate Divendar Singh Behel, in a statement issued in Jammu, deplored that India has been denying the right to self-determination to the people of occupied Kashmir for the last over seven decades. He added that the international community, particularly the UN, bears the responsibility to ensure that the Kashmiri people are allowed to exercise this right.

He also thanked Pakistan for its unwavering support to Kashmiris’ just cause.

Illegally detained APHC leader Noor Muhammad Fayaz in a message from jail said that the Kashmir dispute remained unresolved due to India’s stubbornness. He said the plebiscite under the UN resolutions is the best solution to the dispute.

He urged the international community to hold India accountable for violating its international obligation on Kashmir and force it to resolve the Kashmir dispute without any further delay.

APHC leader Abdul Samad Inqilabi, in a statement in Srinagar, deplored that India is victimising the people of occupied Jammu and Kashmir for demanding their internationally-recognised right to self-determination.

However, he maintained that the Kashmiris will continue their struggle till they were given this right.

Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Freedom League spokesman Muhammad Umar said in a statement that the denial of right to self-determination to the Kashmiris by India had resulted in their continued sufferings for the last several decades.

He urged the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to take notice of the deteriorating situation in Jammu and Kashmir and invoke the resolutions of 13th August 1948 and 5th January 1949, for holding a free, fair and impartial plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir, as per the UN resolutions.