ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: As the Right to Self-Determination Day is being observed on Tuesday for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, President Dr. Arif Alvi has reminded the United Nations to honour its commitment which was made 72 years ago.
“The right to self-determination is a vital component of human dignity,” the president said on the occasion of Kashmiris’ Right to Self-Determination Day.
“The negation of this right is the negation of human freedom, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and UN Human Rights Covenants,” he added.
The president said that India is the biggest violator of this inalienable human right.
Dr. Arif Alvi said that since August 5, 2019 through continuous illegal and unilateral steps, the Indian government has created an environment of fear and chaos in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
More than 500 days of military siege and draconian restrictions on fundamental freedoms and rights including the right to life and health despite the COVID-19 pandemic have challenged the conscience of the International Community and India’s credentials of being a respectable member of the comity of nations, he said.
The president said that the Indian actions have been widely rejected by the International Community, the United Nations, and International Human Rights Organizations.
President Arif Alvi said that the current situation in IIOJK is the worst in recent history where the people have been deprived of all basic rights including rights to freedom of expression and assembly, as well as self-determination.
Dr. Arif Alvi said that the people of IIOJK are being subjected to collective punishment by the Indian occupation forces who have turned the territory into the largest militarized zone in the world and are seeking to change the demographic structure of the occupied territory in violation of international law including the 4th Geneva Convention.
However, he vowed that Pakistan will continue to extend all possible support for the just cause of the people of Jammu and Kashmir till the realization of their right to self-determination in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions.
