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In a welcoming step, the United Nations General Assembly in New York adopted a Pakistan-sponsored resolution, titled ‘Universal Realisation of the Right of the Peoples to Self-Determination’, which unequivocally supports the right to self-determination for all peoples under subjugation and foreign occupation, including those of Indian-occupied Kashmir.
The adoption of the resolution with consensus would provide the people of Indian-occupied Kashmir with hope in their just struggle for self-determination and freedom from oppression and occupation. It is, indeed, a shot in the arm for the people of Kashmir and inevitably an acknowledgment of an assertive foreign policy by Islamabad.
For the first time after a long hiatus of polarisation has such a resolution been passed by the UNGA, which testifies that the world is changing, and no longer can the fundamental right to life and liberty be thwarted at the hands of power-politics. India has already damaged its case by unilaterally abolishing the special status of Jammu & Kashmir by abrogating Article 370 and 35A.
Kashmiris are loitering in pain and anguish, and during the last two years 4.2 million people from India have been illegally granted domicile of Kashmir, and 90 per cent of its landmass has been grabbed by settlers. This is cultural and psychological genocide. Likewise, the Valley’s demography is being altered under a vicious agenda.
India feels that it can crush the Kashmiri desire for dignity and freedom. However, today many around the world — including independent human rights groups — are saying what Pakistan has been highlighting for decades: that India violates the fundamental rights of Kashmiri civilians with impunity.
The government has done well to raise the Kashmir issue at all forums, and such efforts need to continue to counter India’s efforts to remove this critical problem from the global agenda. Pakistan should continue to forge a consensus amongst Muslim states so that there is a unified voice on Kashmir.
The global debate on Kashmir must continue till there is a just solution — acceptable to the people of the held valley — to this over a seven-decade-old problem. New Delhi must rescind its August 5, 2019, draconian measures and lift the siege on a hapless community.
