International order has failed to deliver justice to Kashmir, Palestine: Masood Khan
Islamabad: Former President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and former Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States Masood Khan has stated that the post-1945 international system—often described as a liberal rules-based international order—has been fundamentally selective and structurally biased, particularly in its failure to resolve the Jammu and Kashmir and Palestine disputes.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Masood Khan addressing an interactive session in Islamabad observed that what is being mourned today as the “erosion” of the international order was, in reality, a system that privileged powerful states while denying weaker nations their legitimate rights.
He remarked that recent crises—from Gaza to other conflict zones—have exposed the fragility and partial application of international law, prompting a global search for a more equitable framework.
Turning specifically to Jammu and Kashmir, he described the dispute as a prism through which the credibility of the international system can be assessed. He recalled that the United Nations had committed to ascertain the will of the Kashmiri people through a plebiscite, yet strategic alignments and geopolitical interests prevented implementation. He emphasized that the events of August 2019 further dismantled the legal and political structure of the occupied territory, intensifying repression and demographic engineering.
Masood Khan underscored that while full-scale war is not a viable option in a nuclearized South Asia, Pakistan retains both the moral and legal right to support the Kashmiri people politically and diplomatically. He stressed the importance of strategic stability, deterrence, and sustained diplomatic engagement to counter unilateral actions and preserve regional balance.
Highlighting the role of civil society, he called for year-round civic activism in global capitals to keep the Kashmir dispute alive. “The status quo is a slow poison,” he cautioned, urging citizens and the diaspora to resist complacency and assert their narrative through lawful and peaceful means.
Reaffirming Pakistan’s principled stance, he maintained that support for the right to self-determination—whether in Palestine or Kashmir—remains anchored in international law and the United Nations Charter.
