FM Bilawal writes to President of the UNSC & UN Secretary General on India’s illegal actions to change demographic structure of IIOJK

ISLAMABAD, Oct 15 (SABAH): Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has addressed a letter to the President of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the United Nations Secretary General drawing attention to the alarming situation in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), especially India’s ongoing unlawful measures to change the demographic structure of the occupied territory.

According to a statement issued by Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad issued on Saturday, in his letter, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari regretted India’s continued denial of the right of self-determination to the people of IIOJK. He recalled that the unilateral measures undertaken by India since 5 August 2019 in IIOJK, including the on-going systematic efforts to change the demographic structure of the occupied territory, were in blatant violation of international law, including the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the Fourth Geneva Convention. He underscored that the Indian Government was making expeditious moves to register as many as 2.5 million new voters in IIOJK before the upcoming local elections in the region, to meddle with and further alter the demographic make-up of the occupied territory.

The Foreign Minister reiterated that the only legal basis for the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute was the implementation of the relevant Security Council Resolutions stipulating final disposition of the State through a free and impartial plebiscite under the auspices of the United Nations.

The Foreign Minister called upon the UN Security Council to take immediate cognizance of the on-going illegal and unilateral actions by India to change the demographic composition of IIOJK; remind India that Jammu and Kashmir remains an internationally recognized dispute; and prevail upon India to the let the people of IIOJK determine their own future.

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also urged the UN Security Council and the Secretary General to make concerted efforts to promote a peaceful settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people.