President Alvi urges int’l community to take practical steps to hold India accountable for its gross & widespread HR violations in IIOJK
Says a lasting solution to J&K dispute possible only in accordance with relevant UNSC Resolutions & wishes of Kashmiri people
India is mistaken if it believes it can crush the iron will of the Kashmiri people: PM Shehbaz
Says we will continue to lend moral, diplomatic & political support to their just cause, until they attain freedom from Indian oppression
ISLAMABAD ( Web News )
President Dr. Arif Alvi has urged the international community and organizations to take practical steps to hold India accountable for its gross and widespread human rights violations in of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). He said that Pakistan has consistently maintained that a lasting solution to the Jammu and Kashmir Dispute is possible only in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions and wishes of the Kashmiri people. He said that Pakistan will continue to extend its unstinted moral, diplomatic and political support for this just cause.
This was stated by President Dr. Arif Alvi in his message on the occasion of Kashmir Solidarity Day being observed today (Sunday).
President Dr. Arif Alvi said that today, we observe Kashmir Solidarity Day to express Pakistan’s unflinching support for the legitimate and just struggle of the Kashmiri people for the realization of their inalienable right to self-determination.
“On this occasion, we pay rich tribute to the selfless sacrifices made by our Kashmiri brothers and sisters during their decades-old resistance to the Indian occupation” he said.
“We observe this day to draw the attention of the international community towards the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions which provide that the final disposition of the Jammu and Kashmir Dispute would be made in accordance with the will of the people, expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite conducted under the auspices of the United Nations.
President Dr. Arif Alvi said that over the last 75 years, the Indian occupation forces have unleashed a reign of terror and carried out a relentless campaign to intimidate and suppress the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). The presence of more than 900,000 Indian armed personnel has turned the region into an open prison. India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019 in IIOJK were a blatant violation of international law, including the UN Charter, the 4th Geneva Convention, and the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, he said.
President Dr. Arif Alvi said that India has been consistently engaged in efforts to further entrench these illegal measures through artificial demographic changes, political engineering, economic marginalization of the local people and an assault on Kashmiri identity and culture. It is alarming that India is undertaking demographic changes in IIOJK by bringing non-Kashmiris to settle in the valley, he said.
President Dr. Arif Alvi said that India’s heavy-handed approach frequently manifests itself in extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions, custodial torture, enforced disappearances and the use of pellet guns in IIOJK. He said that India has muzzled the media and incarcerated the Kashmiri leadership and defenders of human rights. These excesses and brutalities have been well-documented by several human rights organizations and international media outlets, he said.
President Dr. Arif Alvi said that today, Pakistan calls upon India to allow unfettered access to the UN and OIC observers, international media and human rights organizations to IIOJK to obtain first-hand information about the situation there, and investigate and report the human rights violations.
Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has said that India is mistaken if it believes it can crush the iron will of the Kashmiri people. No amount of state terrorism, unleashed by Indian Occupation Forces, can break the will of the Kashmiris or undermine their legitimate struggle, he said.
This was stated by PM Shehbaz Sharif in his message on Kashmir Solidarity Day being observed today (Sunday).
PM Shehbaz Sharif said that every year, on the 5th of February, the people of Pakistan reaffirm their solidarity with their Kashmiri brothers and sisters. On this Kashmir Solidarity Day, we renew our commitment of our unflinching support to them in their just struggle for inalienable right to self-determination, he said.
He said that the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is one of the oldest, unresolved items on the agenda of the United Nations. Over the last 75 years, India has continued its illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir and suppressed its people. Thousands of Kashmiris have sacrificed their lives and suffered countless atrocities at the hands of the Indian Occupation Forces, he said. The already bad situation took a turn for the worst following India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019. These illegal and unilateral steps have been rejected by Pakistan and the Kashmiris, PM Shehbaz Sharif said.
PM Shehbaz Sharif said that the human rights situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) remains a source of grave concern to Pakistan and the rest of the world. He said that India has brazenly targeted Kashmiri men, women and children through curfews, blackouts, arbitrary detention, imprisonment, and denial of basic rights. He said that the popular Kashmiri political leadership has been illegally detained or deliberately victimized through fictitious cases. He said that the media has been silenced through coercion and religious scholars have been arrested. Draconian laws have been enacted that deny the fundamental freedoms of the Kashmiri people, he said.
PM Shehbaz Sharif said that India has also intensified its campaign to bring about demographic changes in IIOJK, so as to convert the Kashmiris into a minority in their own land. These actions are in violation of UNSC resolutions and international law, including the 4th Geneva Convention, he said.
PM Shehbaz Sharif said that we urge India to honour its commitments made to Pakistan, the United Nations and, above all, to the Kashmiri people.
“On behalf of the entire Pakistani nation, I want to assure our Kashmiri brothers and sisters that we stand shoulder to shoulder with them. We will continue to lend moral, diplomatic and political support to their just cause, until they attain freedom from Indian oppression. Pakistan will also continue to raise its voice at all international platforms and highlight India’s barbaric actions in IIOJK” he said.