ISLAMABAD: Chairman of the Kashmir Institute of International Relations (KIIR) Altaf Hussain Wani on Friday asserted that electoral processes in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) have no bearing on the future resolution of the Kashmir dispute.
He said that the United Nations Security Council had previously declared that no electoral process in Kashmir could affect the nature or future disposition of the conflict.
Wani referenced UNSC Resolution 122 (1957), which states that the final status of Jammu and Kashmir should be determined by the will of Kashmiris through a free and impartial plebiscite under the UN’s supervision.
He said that elections, unlike a plebiscite, are conducted to establish administrative governance, not to decide the future of a disputed region.
He criticized the Indian government for allegedly misleading the international community by manipulating election results and turnout, urging them to distinguish between elections and referendums, which gauge the people’s aspirations in a disputed territory.
Wani reiterated that the Hurriyat Conference views polls under military occupation as illegitimate and insufficient to resolve the Kashmir issue.
True Resolution of Kashmir Dispute
He said that true resolution and peace in the valley can only be achieved by addressing the historical context of the Kashmir dispute and respecting the will of its people.
