Kashmiris remain steadfast in demand for self-determination despite Indian repression: Amb Masood Khan
Islamabad: Ambassador Masood Khan, former President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and former Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States, China and the United Nations, has affirmed that the people of Indian illegally Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) continue to suffer incarceration, torture, and systemic repression under Indian occupation, yet remain steadfast in their demand for the realization of their right to self-determination.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Ambassador Khan was addressing over 700 students and faculty at the National Defence University in Islamabad under the theme “Kashmir at the Crossroads.” The students were from the various universities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi as well as the University of AJK.
He urged students to prepare themselves intellectually, technologically, and morally to shoulder the responsibility of nation-building, stressing that Pakistan’s economic strength, military resilience, and strategic clarity are indispensable for securing justice for the Kashmiri people.
Recalling his decades of advocacy at the United Nations in Geneva and New York, Ambassador Khan said his commitment to Kashmir was driven not by office or position, but by witnessing the suffering of Kashmiri widows and children, the torture of political leaders, and the illegal detention of thousands in India’s and IIOJK’s most notorious prisons and detention facilities.
“The freedom struggle of Jammu and Kashmir did not begin in 1947,” he noted. “The people of IIOJK were pushed from one long period of slavery to another era of more brutal, despotic rule, when India occupied the territory on October 27, 1947.” He described the present condition in IIOJK as a continuation of enforced subjugation, marked by killings, heavy militarization, arbitrary detentions, suppression of dissent, communication blackouts, and systematic denial of political rights.
Ambassador Khan underscored that despite inducements, the Kashmiris continue to reject absorption into India, insisting instead on the implementation of UNSC resolutions and the realization of their inalienable right to self-determination. “India has failed to win their hearts and minds”, he said.
Warning against India’s disinformation campaigns aimed at normalizing, he urged Pakistani youth to counter these narratives through credible scholarship, digital engagement, and responsible advocacy.
Referring to last year’s conflict between India and Pakistan, Ambassador Khan stated that Pakistan successfully defended itself against aggression and prevailed militarily, diplomatically and in the realm of global narratives, with international acknowledgment of the outcome emerging from major world capitals.
He concluded by encouraging students to reject fear and doubt, remain confident in their convictions, and work resolutely to secure freedom and dignity for the people of occupied Jammu and Kashmir. KMS-20S
