ISLAMABAD: The country’s top leadership on Tuesday reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) as the country observed Kashmir Black Day to mark the anniversary of the arrival of Indian forces in Srinagar on Oct 27, 1947.
In a statement issued on the occasion, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the arrival of Indian forces in Srinagar 79 years ago marked the beginning of a “tragic chapter” in the history of Jammu and Kashmir, which continued to cast a long shadow over the region.
He expressed deep concern over the prolonged incarceration of Kashmiri political leaders, activists and human rights defenders.
“Pakistan’s position on Jammu and Kashmir remains clear, consistent and principled,” he said, adding that lasting peace and stability in South Asia could not be achieved without a just and peaceful resolution of the dispute in accordance with relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.
Paying tribute to the sacrifices of the Kashmiri people, PM said countless men, women and children had made immense sacrifices in pursuit of their rights, adding that their memory would always be honoured.
He reaffirmed the government and people of Pakistan’s unwavering solidarity with the people of occupied Kashmir.
According to a statement issued by the Presidency, President Asif Ali Zardari said the people of IIOJK had endured decades of conflict, restrictions and denial of their fundamental rights since Oct 27, 1947.
He said, “continuing restrictions on fundamental freedoms, heightened militarisation, arrests and reports of human rights violations remained a matter of serious concern and underscored the need for sustained international attention”.
Dar calls for resolution in line with UN resolutions
In his message, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said the people of IIOJK continued to be deprived of their fundamental rights under Indian occupation, nearly eight decades after Indian forces entered Srinagar.
He said the Kashmiri people’s struggle for the right to self-determination, recognised by the United Nations, remained unfinished, adding that Pakistan stood firmly with them in their pursuit of freedom, dignity and the right to determine their own future.
Dar added that India’s unilateral measures of Aug 5, 2019, had further aggravated the situation in the disputed territory, intensified the suffering of its people and could not alter the occupied region’s disputed status.
He called on the international community to fulfil its responsibilities towards the Kashmiri people, take sustained notice of the human rights situation in IIOJK and urge India to end rights violations and allow them to exercise their right to self-determination.
He paid tribute to the sacrifices of the Kashmiri people and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to extending them political, diplomatic and moral support.
Dar said a just, peaceful and lasting resolution of the dispute in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people was essential for peace and stability in South Asia. He added that the dispute could not be resolved through unilateral actions or the use of force.
In his message, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said Kashmiris had been waiting for decades for their right to self-determination, as recognised in United Nations resolutions.
He said the international community must answer through its actions when Kashmiris would be granted their recognised right to self-determination.
Bilawal said the future of Kashmir’s children should be one of freedom, peace and a life free from fear, rather than another prolonged wait to decide their own future.
NA resolution urges sustained diplomatic efforts
The National Assembly also unanimously passed a resolution, reaffirming Pakistan’s “unwavering moral, political and diplomatic support” for the people of Jammu and Kashmir and their inalienable right to self-determination.
The resolution strongly condemned continuing human rights violations in occupied Kashmir, including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detentions, enforced disappearances, custodial torture and restrictions on fundamental freedoms.
The House also expressed concern over the continued incarceration of Kashmiri political leaders and activists and rejected India’s unilateral actions of Aug 5, 2019, aimed at altering the disputed territory’s status and demographic character.
In August 2019, India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had revoked occupied Kashmir’s special status by repealing Article 370 of the constitution. The law had limited the power of the Indian parliament to impose laws in the state, apart from matters of defence, foreign affairs and communications.
In its resolution, the NA reaffirmed that the final disposition of the dispute must be determined in accordance with relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and the freely expressed will and aspirations of the Kashmiri people, and called for an end to human rights violations and measures aimed at changing the territory’s demographic character.
The House further urged the government to sustain diplomatic efforts at the United Nations, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and other relevant international forums to highlight the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with relevant UNSC resolutions.
The resolution said that “neither the passage of time, nor repression, nor unilateral actions could extinguish the legitimate aspirations of the Kashmiri people or diminish the international community’s responsibility to work towards a peaceful and just resolution of the Kashmir dispute”.
