Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Saturday called out India for its “illegal” and “hostile” actions in held Kashmir as the nation marked four years since New Delhi stripped the valley of its special autonomy. The premier, in a tweet, said: “Today marks the completion of four years since India deprived Kashmiris of their statehood by unilaterally annexing Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The last four years have represented the culmination of the worst human rights abuses including but not limited to the demographic changes, issuance of fake domiciles, internet shutdown, complete information blackout and imprisonment of Kashmiri leadership of all hues and colours.”
He said India, through these “illegal and immoral measures”, attempted to “alter the internationally recognised status of IIOJK and undermine the Kashmiris’ fundamental right to self-determination”. PM Shehbaz also continued to extend “unwavering diplomatic, moral and political” support to Kashmiris in their struggled and called upon India to reverse its Aug 5 actions. “History bears witness to the fact that brute force has never succeeded in extinguishing the fire of freedom and rights,” the prime minister added. Meanwhile, the military’s media wing said in a statement that Pakistan’s armed forces stood in solidarity with the brave and resilient people of occupied Kashmir in their struggle for the right to self-determination as per the United Nations resolutions. “The continuation of inhumane military lockdown, illegal measures to change the demographic structure of the occupied territory and the gross and systematic transgressions of human rights are all manifest violations of international law,” it said.
The ISPR added that such actions “coupled with the Indian government’s belligerent rhetoric and hostile actions” continued to perpetuate humanitarian and security crises in occupied Kashmir and posed a “perpetual threat to regional security”. It also stressed that the resolution of the Kashmir dispute according to UN resolutions and aspirations of the Kashmiri people was imperative for enduring peace and stability in the region.
“Pakistan Armed Forces pay rich tribute to the martyrs of IIOJK for their supreme sacrifices and affirm full support of Pakistan for provision of political, moral and humanitarian support to Kashmiris in their just struggle against tyranny and illegal subjugation,” the military media wing added. State-run Radio Pakistan reported President Dr Arif Alvi as saying that Pakistan would continue to be the voice of its Kashmiri brothers and sisters, who have been making invaluable sacrifices and will extend all possible support for the fullest realization of their legitimate rights.
“We have no doubt that durable peace and stability in South Asia can only be achieved through a peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people,” he stated. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said India’s actions in India-Occupied Kashmir (IOK) could neither accord legitimacy to its occupation nor suppress the true sentiments of the Kashmiri people as coercion and intrigue could not replace legitimacy.
The foreign minister stressed that the international community must demand an end to India’s gross and widespread human rights violations in the region, reversal of its unilateral and illegal actions of August 5, 2019, repeal of draconian laws, and implementation of relevant UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir. “Pakistan wants good relations with all its neighbours, including India. However, good relations can only be achieved through dispute resolution and not through dispute denial. The durable peace in South Asia remains contingent upon the settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute,” a foreign office (FO) statement quoted Bilawal as saying.
As a party to the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, he said, Pakistan stands ready to play its role to ensure a free and impartial plebiscite in accordance with the UNSC resolutions. “Our strong and steadfast moral, political, and diplomatic support for the Kashmiri people will continue till the realisation of their inalienable right to self-determination,” he reiterated. The foreign minister further said “Youm-e-Istehsal” was a sombre occasion to recall India’s illegal and unilateral actions of August 5, 2019 in IOK.
That day, India scrapped the special status of IOK and bifurcated it into two so-called “Union Territories” to alter its internationally-recognised disputed status and undermine the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people. The Indian actions triggered a process of demographic change and political engineering. As a result, the Kashmiri people were confronted with the danger of becoming a disempowered minority in their own land, he added.
FM Bilawal further said India had unleashed a new reign of oppression in IIOJK since August 5, 2019. “The harassment of innocent people, arbitrary detentions, cordon, and search operations, and extra-judicial killings have become a matter of routine,” he added. “The Kashmiri people remain deprived of their fundamental freedoms of expression, assembly, and religion. Above all, they are unable to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination.”
Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)