ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi on Friday said that Pakistan is determined to playing its role in supporting the Kashmiris right to self-determination through a free and impartial plebiscite as per the United Nations Security Council resolutions.
The president, in his message in connection with the Right to Self-Determination Day being observed on January 5, said, Pakistan’s strong and steadfast moral, diplomatic and political support for the Kashmiri people will continue till the realization of their inalienable right.
He said every year, on the 5th of January, we renew our support for the right to self-determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
He added that on this day in 1949, the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) adopted a unanimous resolution affirming the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people through a free and impartial plebiscite under the United Nations.
Right to self-determination a basic principle of international law
The President further said that the right to self-determination is a basic principle of international law, upheld in numerous core United Nations treaties, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
President Alvi said, the UN General Assembly for decades for decades has reaffirmed in its annual resolution on self-determination. However, the last 76 years of India’s occupation of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) is a sad story of repression of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
He observed that India is trying to consolidate its occupation of IIOJK. He noted the Indian Supreme Court’s judgment of 11th December 2023 on the status of this disputed territory is the latest step in this direction.
He added India is striving to subjugate the Kashmiris through such oppressive tactics further and continues to deny the inalienable right to self-determination of Kashmiris.
The President in his message said today’s commemoration is aimed at reminding the international community of its responsibility towards the oppressed Kashmiri people.
He called upon the United Nations to honour the commitments that it had made 75 years ago and support the Kashmiri people’s struggle for self-determination.
