ISLAMABAD: President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi has said that the right to self-determination is a basic principle of international law but the people of Kashmir have not been able to exercise this inalienable right.
The president in a message on the occasion of Kashmir Solidarity Day being observed on February 5, said the UN General Assembly every year adopts a resolution expressing unequivocal support for the realization of the right to self-determination for the people under external occupation.
He said the people of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) have been struggling to realize their right to self-determination for the past 76 years.
“Today, IIOJK is one of the most militarized zones in the world. Kashmiris are living in an environment of fear and intimidation,” President Secretariat in a press release, quoted the president as saying.
The president added that on the Kashmir Solidarity Day, the government and people of Pakistan reaffirmed their unflinching support for their just and legitimate struggle.
He said the Indian occupation forces are engaged in indiscriminate use of force against civilians in Kashmir. He added political activists and human rights defenders faced arbitrary detention and confiscation of properties in the area.
He went on to say the political parties, representing the genuine aspirations of the people of Kashmir are being banned.
Indian trying to consolidate its occupation of IIOJK
The president noted that India is also taking measures to consolidate its occupation of IIOJK.
He added following its illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019, India’s efforts have been aimed at engineering demographic and political changes so that the Kashmiris are converted into a disempowered community in their own land.
The president said the Indian Supreme Court’s verdict of 11 December 2023 is another manifestation of India’s wish to undermine the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people.
He demanded that India must end its gross human rights violations in IIOJK; reverse its unilateral and illegal actions of 5 August 2019 and implement the relevant UN Security Council resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir.
“I wish to reiterate that seeking a just resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute will remain a key pillar of our foreign policy,” he added.
The president further said that Pakistan would continue to lend unstinted diplomatic, moral and political support to the Kashmiri people till the realization of their right to self-determination, as enshrined in the UN Security Council resolutions.
