ISLAMABAD (APP): President Dr Arif Alvi has said that over 900,000 Indian occupation forces had turned IIOJK into an open prison; however, the desperation of the RSS-BJP dispensation to control the indigenous Kashmiri movement has completely run aground.
The president, in his message on Kashmir Solidarity Day annually observed on February 5, said India was using state terrorism against the Kashmiris including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions, fake encounters and staged cordon-and-search operations. Moreover, the Kashmiri people were also being subjected to the custodial torture, enforced disappearances, incarceration of Kashmiri leadership, use of pellet guns, and destruction of houses.
“For more than seven decades, it has been a battle of hope against overwhelming odds, of courage against fear, and of sacrifice against tyranny; but through all of it, the Kashmiri people have persisted and stood firm in the face of continuing Indian campaign of brutalization which has used every inhuman tactic and draconian laws to perpetuate the illegal occupation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK),” the president remarked.
Paying tribute to the unparalleled commitment of the Kashmiris for the attainment of their legitimate right to self-determination, the president said the entire Pakistani nation stood with Kashmiris.
It is our firm belief that the Kashmiris will succeed in their valiant struggle to secure freedom from oppression and illegal occupation, he added.
President Alvi said the Jammu and Kashmir dispute was one of the oldest items on the agenda of the UN Security Council. The dispute remains unresolved due to India’s obstinate refusal to honour its commitments and its disrespect for fundamental human rights and international law, he added.
He said India’s illegal and unilateral actions of August 5, 2019 were in blatant violation of international law including the UN Charter, 4th Geneva Convention, and the relevant UN Security Council resolutions which stipulated that the final disposition of the state of Jammu and Kashmir 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.
The president said India had embarked on the depopulation of Kashmiri Muslims by confiscating their land and bringing non-Kashmiri to settle in IIOJK.
“These Indian actions have caused serious damage to peace efforts in an already volatile region. India’s refusal to grant the right to self-determination has serious implications for South Asia and beyond,” he remarked.
President Alvi reiterated Pakistan’s call on the international community to take practical steps to hold India accountable for its gross and widespread human rights violations in IIOJK.
“A just and lasting solution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with international legitimacy is the only way to ensure durable peace and development in the region,” he commented.
Reiterating Pakistan’s resolute in our principled position on Jammu and Kashmir to continue supporting Kashmiris in their just struggle, he said, Pakistan’s ultimate objective was a peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute as per relevant UNSC resolutions and in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiri people.
