Shamim Shawl briefs OIC Contact Group on IIOJK situation
APHC leader seeks effective role for Kashmir resolution
Shamim Shawl briefs OIC Contact Group on IIOJK situation
APHC leader seeks effective role for Kashmir resolution
New York, September 23 (KMS): Senior leader of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference-Azad Jammu and Kashmir (APHC-AJK) chapter, Shamim Shawl, attended the meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir held in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Shamim Shawl briefed the participants about the current political, human rights and social situation in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir and gave a detailed account of the difficulties faced by the oppressed Kashmiri people, including political restrictions, human rights violations and curbs on basic freedoms.
She emphasized that Jammu and Kashmir is a longstanding and unresolved international dispute whose just and lasting solution is possible only in accordance with the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people and the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.
Shamim Shawl urged the OIC to make its diplomatic efforts more effective at the international level to highlight the Kashmir dispute, ensure international monitoring of the human rights situation, protect the rights of political prisoners and human rights defenders and safeguard the fundamental rights of the Kashmiri people.
She said the international community should not remain silent over the human rights situation and curbs on people in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir, and that international institutions, including the United Nations, should play an effective role in assessing the ground situation through independent and transparent monitoring.
The leader, while appreciating the OIC’s continued support for the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people, expressed hope that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation would continue its diplomatic efforts for a peaceful, just and lasting resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
She said the measures taken since August 5, 2019, have altered occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s political and administrative framework but have not resolved the underlying dispute or diminished UN Security Council resolutions. Concerns persist over civil liberties, political representation, demographic changes and human rights, including restrictions on journalists and civil society. She urged the OIC to focus on four priorities: reaffirming the right of the Kashmiri people to self-determination; supporting international monitoring and UN access to assess human rights; advocating fundamental freedoms and protecting journalists and activists; and strengthening diplomatic efforts for a peaceful and just resolution under international law. Justice and accountability must remain central, she said, adding that selective prosecutions cannot replace genuine redress for systemic abuses.
