Kashmiris to observe Self-Determination Day tomorrow
Kashmir dispute has become a nuclear flashpoint in South Asia: APHC
Srinagar: Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control and across the world will observe the Right to Self-Determination Day tomorrow to remind the international community of its commitment to the Kashmiri people.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the day will be observed on the call of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference. Protest demonstrations, rallies and seminars will be held in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan and different parts of the world to sensitise the global community about the Kashmir dispute and to highlight the political injustice and oppression faced by Kashmiris under Indian occupation.
It was on January 5, 1949 that the United Nations Security Council adopted a historic resolution affirming that the question of the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India or Pakistan would be decided through a free and impartial plebiscite.
The January 5, 1949 resolution provides the basis for a peaceful settlement of the lingering dispute, but India’s continued intransigence has remained a major obstacle.
The principles contained in the communications of India and Pakistan with the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) dated December 23 and 25, 1948, and adopted by the Commission, were supplementary to its August 13, 1948 resolution. The UNCIP—comprising representatives from Argentina, Belgium, Colombia, Czechoslovakia and the United States—unanimously adopted the January 5, 1949 resolution. A ceasefire between India and Pakistan had come into effect one minute before midnight on January 1, 1949, following the August 13, 1948 resolution.
Although 78 years have passed, no concrete steps have been taken to implement the resolutions of August 13, 1948 and January 5, 1949. The Hindutva-driven BJP government is using the Indian Army, paramilitary forces, police and agencies such as RAW, the Intelligence Bureau, NIA, State Investigation Agency and Enforcement Directorate to suppress the voice and rights of the people of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. While East Timor and South Sudan were granted freedom through UN-mandated plebiscites, the people of Jammu and Kashmir continue to face state terrorism under Indian occupation.
The situation further deteriorated after August 5, 2019, when the BJP-led government illegally revoked Articles 370 and 35A of the internationally recognised disputed territory, stripping Kashmiris of their political, religious and civil rights. Thousands of Kashmiris, including APHC Chairman Masarrat Aalam Butt, Shabbir Ahmad Shah, Muhammad Yasin Malik, Aasiya Andrabi, Nayeem Ahmad Khan, Advocate Mian Abdul Qayoom, Mushtaq-ul-Islam and human rights defender Khurram Parvez, remain languishing in Indian jails, while the wider population continues to suffer under political repression.
In their statements in Srinagar, All Parties Hurriyat Conference leaders said the January 5, 1949 resolution is clear evidence that Kashmir is not India’s internal matter but an internationally recognised dispute. The APHC warned that te unresolved Kashmir dispute has since become a nuclear flashpoint in South Asia. The failure of the United Nations to implement its own resolutions has prolonged the suffering of the Kashmiri people, it deplored.
The APHC urged the United Nations to fulfil its obligations and work for a settlement of the Kashmir issue in its historical perspective. The leaders also called for a negotiated settlement to end the cycle of killings in the territory.
Kashmir civil society members in Srinagar also urged the UN to make serious efforts to implement its January 5, 1949 resolution, stating that India’s refusal to comply has pushed the region into prolonged uncertainty. They said India’s policy of intransigence and deception has remained a major hurdle to a peaceful settlement for over seven decades and stressed that it is high time the UN Security Council took effective notice of India’s delaying tactics to ensure early implementation of the resolution, which provides a comprehensive roadmap for resolving the Kashmir dispute peacefully. KMS-5R
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