President, PM support Kashmiris’ right to self-determination

ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has said that Pakistan remained determined to play its role in supporting the right to self-determination of Kashmiris through a free and impartial plebiscite as per the United Nations Security Council resolutions.

The president, in his message in connection with the Right to Self-Determination Day being observed on January 5, said, “Our strong and steadfast moral, political and diplomatic support for the Kashmiri people will continue till the realisation of this inalienable right.”

“Every year, on the 5th of January, we renew our support for the right to self-determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. On this day in 1949, the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) unanimously adopted a resolution affirming the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people through a free and impartial plebiscite under the auspices of the United Nations,” he added, according to the official news agency.

“The right to self-determination is a cardinal principle of international law, upheld in numerous core United Nations treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.”

President Alvi said, “For decades, it has been reaffirmed by the UN General Assembly in its annual resolution on self-determination. However, the last 76 years of India’s occupation of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) are a sad story of repression of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

“India is trying to consolidate its occupation of IIOJK. The Indian Supreme Court’s judgment of 11th December 2023 on the status of this disputed territory is the latest step in this direction. India is striving to subjugate the Kashmiris through such oppressive tactics further. It continues to deny their inalienable right to self-determination and live with freedom and dignity,” he observed.

“Today’s commemoration is aimed at reminding the international community of its responsibility towards the oppressed Kashmiri people. The United Nations must honour the commitments that it had made 75 years ago and support the Kashmiri people’s struggle for self-determination,” he concluded.

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar also reiterated that Pakistan would continue to extend its full political, diplomatic, and moral support to the valiant Kashmiri people in their just struggle for their rights including the inalienable right to self-determination, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

“Today, Kashmiris around the world are observing the 75th anniversary of the resolution adopted by the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP), providing that the Jammu and Kashmir dispute will be decided through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite under the UN auspices, the prime minister said in a message on the occasion of the Self-Determination Day.

In essence, he said, it was a reaffirmation of the inalienable right of Kashmiris to self-determination, which is enshrined in international law and upheld by international human rights instruments.

He regretted that despite more than seven and a half decades, the oppressed people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) have not been able to exercise this fundamental right. India continues to oppress the people of Jammu and Kashmir to break their will.

Since August 5, 2019, the prime minister said, India was engaged in a vicious exercise, aimed at altering the demographic structure and political landscape of IIOJK, to turn Kashmiris into a disempowered community in their land.

The Indian Supreme Court’s recent verdict on the status of IIOJK is yet another step towards the denial of the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination. The genuine aspirations of the Kashmiris cannot be wished away through domestic legislation and engineered judicial verdicts, he added.

He pointed out the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) annually adopts a resolution on “Universal Realization of the Right of the People to Self-Determination” that draws international attention towards the plight and rights of people living under situations of forced occupation.

The international community, especially the United Nations, is responsible for ensuring that the people of IIOJK exercise their inalienable right to self-determination, he added.

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Murtaza Solangi reiterated the commitment of the government and people of Pakistan to contribute support for Kashmir cause.

“Today we reiterate our commitment that Pakistan will continue to support Kashmiris politically, diplomatically and morally till they get their rightful rights and the success of their freedom struggle,” Solangi said in a message on the occasion of Kashmir Self-Determination Day.

Kashmiri people on both sides of the Line of Control and around the world were celebrating the right to self-determination today, Murtaza Solangi said.

The minister said that United Nations Security Council, through a resolution on January 5, 1949, gave the Kashmiri people the right to decide their future as per their wishes.