JKSDMI expresses deep concerns over holding of sham elections in IIOJK
London: The Jammu and Kashmir Self Determination Movement International (JKSDMI) has expressed deep concerns over the holding of sham elections by Indian authorities in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the JKSDMI Chairman Raja Najabat Hussain in a letter addressed to the UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said these elections, while portrayed as a democratic process, cannot and must not be viewed as a legitimate replacement for the plebiscite promised to the Kashmiri people under the United Nations resolutions, notably those supported by the United Kingdom.
He said the Kashmiri people have been waiting for over seven decades for the fulfillment of the promise made to them by the international community to determine their own political future through a fair and impartial plebiscite.
Raja Najabat Hussain said the elections currently underway in occupied Jammu and Kashmir cannot serve as a substitute for this right of self-determination as they do not address the core issues of political autonomy or the aspirations of the Kashmiri people for their rightful participation in decisions concerning their future.
Moreover, he said, these elections occur amidst continued military occupation, mass detentions, restrictions on free movement, communication blackouts, and human rights abuses. Under such conditions, any form of electoral process lacks credibility and fails to represent the will of the Kashmiri population, he added.
Raja Najabat said the international community, particularly the United Kingdom, must question the legitimacy of any electoral process carried out in these conditions and reaffirm the need for the plebiscite that has long been promised.
He said the UK has a unique historical responsibility in this matter, given its role in the partition of the subcontinent and its commitment to ensuring a just and peaceful resolution to the Kashmir dispute.
He urged the UK Prime Minister to reaffirm the UK’s commitment to the UN resolutions, condemn the electoral process in IIOJK and acknowledge that elections conducted under military occupation and in a climate of repression do not equate to the legitimate expression of the Kashmiri people’s will.
The JKSDMI Chairman said the ongoing situation in Kashmir continues to threaten regional stability and violates the fundamental human rights of its people. It is time for the international community, and the UK in particular, to stand firmly on the side of justice, peace, and the rule of international law, he concluded.
