UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan has reiterated that the Jammu and Kashmir dispute remains on the United Nations Security Council’s agenda, stressing that its final settlement must be determined in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions guaranteeing the Kashmiri people’s inalienable right to self-determination.
Speaking during an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, Counsellor Saima Saleem emphasised that the people of Jammu and Kashmir must be allowed to exercise this right through a free and impartial plebiscite under United Nations auspices, as envisaged in relevant Security Council resolutions, including Resolution 47 (1948).
Statement by Counsellor Saima Saleem
During the Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues
(23 October 2026)
*******Mr. Chair,
We thank the Special Rapporteur for his report and its emphasis on international cooperation, respect for diversity, and the protection of the rights of persons belonging to minorities.
2. Pakistan remains firmly committed to safeguarding the rights of religious, ethnic and linguistic minorities, consistent with its Constitution and international human rights obligations.
3. We remain deeply concerned about the growing discrimination, intolerance, hate speech and violence targeting minorities across the world, including Muslim minorities. The rise of Islamophobia, religious profiling, restrictions on religious freedoms and incitement to hatred demands greater international attention and concerted action. The protection of minority rights must be pursued universally, consistently and without selectivity.
4. We appreciate the report’s recognition of the distinction between minority rights and the right of peoples to self-determination, as well as its reference to Security Council resolution 47 (1948) concerning Jammu and Kashmir.
5. Pakistan reiterates that Jammu and Kashmir remains an internationally recognized dispute on the Security Council’s agenda. Its final disposition must be determined in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions, which provide for the exercise of the Kashmiri people’s inalienable right to self-determination through a free and impartial plebiscite under United Nations auspices.
I thank you.
— Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the UN (@PakistanUN_NY) October 25, 2026
She welcomed the Special Rapporteur’s recognition of the distinction between minority rights and the right of peoples to self-determination, highlighting the relevance of this distinction to the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
Counsellor Saima Saleem reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering commitment to the protection of minority rights and stressed that the principles of equality, non-discrimination and respect for fundamental rights must be upheld universally, consistently and without selectivity.
She further stated that a just and lasting resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute must be grounded in international law and the relevant United Nations resolutions, thus enabling the people of Jammu and Kashmir to freely determine their own future in accordance with their inalienable right to self-determination.
The Pakistani delegate expressed deep concern over rising discrimination, intolerance, hate speech and violence against minorities worldwide, including Muslim communities.
She stressed that the growing prevalence of Islamophobia, religious profiling, restrictions on religious freedoms and incitement to hatred requires greater international attention and concerted action.
