The ‘Kashmir Solidarity Day’ is annually observed on the fifth of February to express Pakistan’s unwavering support to the Kashmiri people’s just struggle for realization of their right to self-determination. This is also an occasion to pay rich tribute to the sacrifices made by our Kashmiri brothers and sisters during the last seventy-six years.
The relevant UN Security Council Resolutions provide that the final disposition of Jammu and Kashmir will be made in accordance with the will of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite conducted under the auspices of the United Nations. However, over the last seventy-six years, India has carried out a relentless campaign to intimidate and suppress the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
In IIOJK, the iron-fisted Indian approach frequently manifests itself in extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions and custodial torture. India has muzzled the media and incarcerated the Kashmiri leadership and human rights defenders. These excesses have been well-documented by several human rights organizations and international media outlets.
India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019 in IIOJK were a blatant violation of international law including the UN Charter, Fourth Geneva Convention, and the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. India has since been engaged in efforts to further entrench these illegal measures through a series of steps aimed at altering the demographic structure and political landscape of IIOJK.
The Indian Supreme Court’s judgement of 11 December 2023 on the status of IIOJK is another step towards denial of the Kashmir people’s right to self-determination. However, the genuine aspirations of the Kashmiri people cannot be undermined through such domestic legislation or judicial verdicts.
India must allow unrestricted 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 human rights violations.
Pakistan has consistently maintained that a lasting solution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is possible only in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions and wishes of the Kashmiri people. Pakistan will continue to extend its unstinted moral, diplomatic and political support for this just cause.