05 February Kashmir Solidarity Day: Federal Minister Kashir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan

TEXT: Today, on this Kashmir Solidarity Day, we reaffirm our resolute support for our Kashmiri brothers and sisters, who continue to remain steadfast in their just struggle for right to self-determination. The Kashmiris have stood fearlessly in the face of brutalities inflicted upon them by 900,000 Indian Occupation forces armed to the teeth. This indigenous and untiring Kashmiri struggle proves that no level of repression can break the will of the Kashmiri people.

India illegally and unilaterally sought to change the status of the disputed territory on 5 August 2019. India has embarked upon its so-called “final solution” to perpetuate its illegal occupation of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), to obliterate the distinct Kashmiri identity, and to convert Kashmiris into a minority in their own land. These Indian attempts to change the demographic structure of IIOJK are a clear violation of the international law including the UN Charter, relevant UN Security Council resolutions, and the 4th Geneva Convention.

For the past two and half years, India has imposed an unprecedented military siege and draconian curbs on the fundamental rights and freedoms of the Kashmiris. India’s efforts to subjugate the Kashmiri people through extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions, staged cordon-and-search operations, torture, forced disappearances, incarcerations, brutalization and collective punishments have failed in the past and will not succeed in the future.

By now, India must have realized that the resolve of the Kashmiris is stronger than the Indian illegal occupation and the power of their silence is mightier than the gunshots fired upon them.

Pakistan will continue to call for holding India accountable for its crimes against the Kashmiri people. The international community must hold India accountable for its breaches of the international human rights and humanitarian laws. India must stop its egregious human rights violations in IIOJK and let the Kashmiri people exercise their right to self-determination.

Jammu & Kashmir is the core dispute between Pakistan and India. The world community must recognize its collective obligation towards the Kashmiris and understand that continued apathy to the sufferings of the Kashmiri People will have disastrous consequences not only for the region but potentially for the world at large. For durable peace in South Asia, international community must work for peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022