ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has said that Pakistan stands solidly by Kashmiris in their just struggle to the right of self-determination and would continue to highlight the Jammu and Kashmir dispute at the international level.
“Our ultimate objective remains the peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute as per relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiris people,” he said in his message on the Youm-e-Istehsal being observed today.
On August 5, 2019, he said, India in violation of the international law and norms undertook illegal and unilateral actions in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) to further perpetuate its occupation.
The president said through its illegal actions, India tried to change the demographic structure of the occupied territory and eliminate the distinct identity of the Kashmiris people in violation of UN Charter and International law, including the 4th Geneva Convention.
He said these Indian actions were also aimed at foreclosing the exercise of the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people promised to them in numerous resolutions of the UN Security Council. “Through continuous illegal and unilateral steps, the Indian government has created an environment of fear and chaos in IIOJK,” he said.
The president said the people of IIOJK were being subjected to collective punishment by Indian occupation forces, which have turned the territory into the largest militarized zone in the world.
For the past twenty-four months, he said, Kashmiris had suffered the worst human rights violations inflicted by Indian occupation forces including military siege and unprecedented restrictions on fundamental freedoms of Kashmiris.
He mentioned that to this day, the senior Kashmiri leadership remained incarcerated under trumped up charges. Extra-judicial killings and arbitrary arrests and detentions also continue unabated, he added.
He said India’s illegal actions in IIOJK were aimed at breaking the spirit of the Kashmiri people, but these had manifestly failed. He recalled that these steps were also forcefully rejected by Pakistan, the Kashmiris, and the international community.
He said these Indian actions had also been denounced by international media and human rights organizations as a means to continue its illegal and brutal occupation of the region.
“The day also serves as a reminder to the international community to hold India accountable for its actions and deliver on its promise to the Kashmiris,” he said.
President Alvi said a just and peaceful settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people, was indispensible for durable peace and stability in South Asia.
He urged the international community to call upon India to end its campaign of repression and human rights violations in IIOJK and reverse all its illegal actions, including those initiated on and after 5 August 2019. He said India must cease and desist from imposing any additional unilateral changes in the occupied territory.
