Every year, on 5th of January, we renew our support for the right to self-determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. On this day in 1949, the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) unanimously adopted a resolution affirming the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people through a free and impartial plebiscite under the auspices of the United Nations.
The right to self-determination is a cardinal principle of international law, upheld in numerous core United Nations Treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. For decades, it has been reaffirmed by UN General Assembly in its annual resolution on self-determination. However, the last 76 years of India’s occupation of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) are a sad story of repression of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
India is trying to consolidate its occupation of IIOJK. The Indian Supreme Court’s judgement of 11 December 2023 on the status of this disputed territory is the latest step in this direction. India is trying to further subjugate the Kashmiris through such oppressive tactics. It continues to deny their inalienable right to self-determination and a life of dignity.
Today’s commemoration is aimed at reminding the international community of its responsibility towards the oppressed Kashmiri people. The United Nations must honor the commitments it made 75 years ago and support the Kashmiri people’s struggle for self-determination. Pakistan remains determined to play its role in supporting the right to self-determination of Kashmiris through a free and impartial plebiscite in accordance with the United Nations Security Council resolutions. Our strong and steadfast moral, political, and diplomatic support for the Kashmiri people will continue till the realization of this inalienable right.
Message from Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Mr. Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on the Occasion of Right to Self-Determination Day (5th Jan, 2024)
Today, Kashmiris around the world are observing the 75th anniversary of the Resolution adopted by At United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP), which provides that the Jammu and Kashmir dispute will be decided through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite under the UN auspices. In essence, it was a reaffirmation of the inalienable right of Kashmir to self-determination, which is enshrined in international law and upheld by international human rights instruments.
Regrettably, despite more than seven and a half decades, the oppressed people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (1100K) have not been able to exercise this fundamental right. India continues to oppress the people of Jammu and Kashmir to break their will. On August 5 August 2019, India is engaged in a vicious exercise aimed at altering the demographic structure and political landscape of 110 JK, with a view to turning Kashmiris into a disempowered community in their own land.
The Indian Supreme Court’s recent verdict on the status of 1101K is yet another step towards the denial of the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination. The genuine aspirations of the Kashmiris cannot be wished away through domestic legislation and engineered judicial verdicts.
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) annually adopts a resolution on “Universal Realization of the Right of At People to Self-Determination” that draws international attention towards the plight and rights of people living under situations of forced occupation. The international community, especially the United Nations, bears the responsibility to ensure that the people of IIOJK exercise their inalienable right to self-determination.
For its part, Pakistan will continue to extend its full political, diplomatic, and moral support to at valiant Kashmiri people in their just struggle for their rights, including the inalienable right to self-determination, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
