India depriving IIOJK people of their birthright to self-determination: Asif Khan
New York: Pakistan has reiterated its stance in the United Nations General Assembly that Jammu and Kashmir is not an integral part of India but an internationally recognized disputed territory.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Pakistani delegate to the General Assembly Asif Khan, exercising his right of reply to the unacceptable and baseless claims of the Indian delegate regarding occupied Jammu and Kashmir, said that India has been depriving the people of Jammu and Kashmir of their birthright to self-determination for the past several decades.
He said in order to keep the oppressed Kashmiris subjugated, the Indian forces are continuously subjecting them to atrocities and serious human rights violations. He said the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples clearly affirmed that the right to self-determination is a fundamental right of all nations.
He said the Security Council and the United Nations have recognized Jammu and Kashmir as a disputed territory through several resolutions and have clearly decided that the final future of the Jammu and Kashmir will be decided by the Kashmiri people through a free and impartial plebiscite to be held under the supervision of the United Nations.
The Pakistani delegate said India has not only accepted these decisions but is also bound to implement them under Article 25 of the United Nations Charter.
He said after revoking the special status of occupied Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, 2019, India is trying to change the population ratio of the territory from a Muslim-majority territory to a Hindu-majority region. He said these steps of India are a clear and open violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and international law.
Asif Khan advised the Indian delegate to carefully study the official UN maps and relevant Security Council resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir before making statements contrary to the facts in the General Assembly.
