A lasting solution of J&K dispute possible only in accordance with the relevant UNSC Resolutions & wishes of Kashmiri people: Anwaarul Haq Kakar

ISLAMABAD, Feb 04 (SABAH): Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar says Pakistan has consistently maintained that a lasting solution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is possible only in accordance with the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions and wishes of the Kashmiri people. Pakistan will continue to extend its unstinted moral, diplomatic and political support for this just cause, he said.

This was stated by Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar in his message on the Occasion of Kashmir Solidarity Day being observed tomorrow (Monday).

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar said that the ‘Kashmir Solidarity Day’ is annually observed on the 5th of February to express Pakistan’s unwavering support to the Kashmiri people’s just struggle for realization of their right to self-determination. This is also an occasion to pay rich tribute to the sacrifices made by our Kashmiri brothers and sisters during the last seventy-six years.

He said that the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions provide that the final disposition of Jammu and Kashmir will be made in accordance with the will of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite conducted under the auspices of the United Nations. However, over the last 76 years, India has carried out a relentless campaign to intimidate and suppress the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

Anwaarul Haq Kakar said that in IIOJK, the iron-fisted Indian approach frequently manifests itself in extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions and custodial torture. India has muzzled the media and incarcerated the Kashmiri leadership and human rights defenders. These excesses have been well-documented by several human rights organizations and international media outlets, he said.

He said that India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019 in IIOJK were a blatant violation of international law including the UN Charter, Fourth Geneva Convention, and the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. India has since been engaged in efforts to further entrench these illegal measures through a series of steps aimed at altering the demographic structure and political landscape of IIOJK.

       He said that the Indian Supreme Court’s judgment of 11 December 2023 on the status of IIOJK is another step towards denial of the Kashmir people’s right to self-determination. However, the genuine aspirations of the Kashmiri people cannot be undermined through such domestic legislation or judicial verdicts.

He said that India must allow unrestricted access to the UN and OIC observers, international media and human rights organizations to IIOJK to obtain first-hand information about the situation there; and investigate and report human rights violations.