US ambassador’s Kashmir remarks disregard Kashmiri aspirations, UN resolutions: DFP
Srinagar : In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) has strongly condemned US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor’s statement describing Jammu and Kashmir as an “important part of India” during his visit to Srinagar.
According to Kashmir Media Service, DFP spokesman Advocate Arshad Iqbal, in a statement issued in Srinagar, said the US Ambassador’s remarks not only disregards the political and historical aspirations of the Kashmiri people but is also inconsistent with the internationally recognized disputed status of Jammu & Kashmir and the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.
He emphasized that the administrative control exercised by one country over a part of a disputed territory does not determine or alter its final legal and political status.
The spokesman said that the Jammu & Kashmir dispute has remained on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council for decades, and that several UN Security Council resolutions recognize the right of the people of Jammu & Kashmir to determine their own future through a free and impartial process. He added that the UN Security Council continues to record Jammu and Kashmir as a dispute between India and Pakistan.
He said that the United States itself has, on various occasions, recognized the Kashmir issue as a dispute and stressed the importance of dialogue and a peaceful resolution. Therefore, for a US diplomatic representative to endorse the position of one party while visiting Srinagar is deeply disappointing and raises serious questions about Washington’s commitment to maintaining an impartial and constructive role in resolving the dispute.
He stressed that Kashmir is not an internal matter of India, but an internationally recognized dispute involving the fundamental right of the Kashmiri people to self-determination. He said that while dialogue between India and Pakistan is important, no durable solution can be achieved by excluding the Kashmiri people, who are the principal party to the dispute.
The DFP spokesman urged the United States and the international community to press India to end human rights violations in occupied Jammu & Kashmir, release political prisoners and create conditions conducive to a peaceful resolution of the dispute.
