Kashmir remains unresolved, Omar Abdullah’s claims cannot alter historical facts: DFP
Islamabad: Jammu Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party has strongly reacted to the remarks made by puppet Chief Minister of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah.
According to Kashmir Media Service, DFP spokesman Advocate Arshad Iqbal in a statement issued in Srinagar said Omar Abdullah, the grandson of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and son of Farooq Abdullah, should confront the historical record rather than selectively interpreting history to suit political interests. He said Kashmir continues to simmer because the people of Jammu and Kashmir have been denied their internationally recognised right to self-determination for decades.
“Omar Abdullah’s assertion that Jammu and Kashmir’s decision in 1947 to remain with India was the right choice neither represents the collective aspirations of the Kashmiri people nor can it negate the United Nations resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir,” he added.
Advocate Arshad Iqbal said the puppet Chief Minister should also remember that members of his own family and political establishment have, at different times, questioned aspects of the political decisions surrounding 1947 and their subsequent consequences. “Therefore, presenting the 1947 decision today as final and beyond question merely for political convenience amounts to ignoring the historical contradictions surrounding his family’s political legacy,” he said. He said the massacres and forced displacement of Muslims in Jammu in 1947 constitute one of the darkest chapters in the history of Jammu and Kashmir and cannot be erased from public memory.
“The enormous loss of life, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, torture, imprisonment of political leaders and suppression of fundamental rights in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir over the subsequent decades further demonstrate that constitutional claims alone cannot change the realities on the ground,” he added.
The DFP spokesman asked the puppet Chief Minister that if he is concerned about the situation of people on the other side of the Line of Control, why does he not speak with equal concern about Kashmiri political leaders and activists imprisoned in Indian jails.
“Shabbir Ahmed Shah, Muhammad Yasin Malik, Masarrat Alam Butt, Aasiya Andrabi and numerous other Kashmiri leaders have endured years of incarceration. Does Omar Abdullah consider their right to political freedom and dissent equally important?” he questioned. Arshad Iqbal further asked Omar Abdullah to explain that if, according to him, the Kashmir dispute has been settled, then what is the relevance of the United Nations Security Council resolutions and the internationally recognised disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir. “Jammu and Kashmir remains a disputed territory, and its final status cannot be determined through force, coercion or unilateral constitutional measures. It must be resolved in accordance with the principles of self-determination and the freely expressed will of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said. He said the unilateral measures taken by the Indian government in August 2019 concerning Articles 370 and 35-A did not resolve the Kashmir dispute; rather, they further complicated the situation.
“Claiming that the dispute has been settled while restricting the political, constitutional and fundamental rights of the Kashmiri people amounts to ignoring the realities on the ground,” he said. The spokesman also rejected the puppet Chief Minister’s assertion that, had Article 370 not been abrogated in 2019, people in Azad Jammu and Kashmir would today have been protesting for reunification with Jammu and Kashmir. He termed the statement political speculation unsupported by any credible mandate from the people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
He said Omar Abdullah should address the situation concerning political freedoms, human rights, freedom of expression and the rights of dissent within occupied Jammu and Kashmir under his own political administration rather than speculating about the political future of people across the Line of Control.
Advocate Arshad Iqbal emphasised that the people of Jammu and Kashmir do not belong to any particular family, political party or government; they are entitled to determine their own political future and exercise their fundamental right to self-determination. “Neither the National Conference nor any other political party has the right to substitute its own political interpretation for the collective will of the Kashmiri people,” he said.
He reaffirmed that the Democratic Freedom Party supports a peaceful and just settlement of the Kashmir dispute through political and diplomatic means, meaningful dialogue and the effective participation of the genuine representatives of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
“Omar Abdullah and his party must confront the entirety of history rather than selectively quoting from its pages. The Kashmir dispute did not end in 1947, it did not end in 2019, and it has not ended today. As long as the people of Jammu and Kashmir remain denied their recognised right to self-determination, the Kashmir dispute will remain alive, and a just and lasting settlement will remain imperative,” Advocate Arshad Iqbal concluded.
