KYIV, Ukraine: Pakistan’s Embassy in Kyiv commemorated January 5, 2020 as the Right to Self-determination Day for the people of Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IOJ&K).
On the occasion, the messages of President Dr Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Imran Khan and the Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi were read out.
As part of the Embassy’s outreach activities to highlight the Indian atrocities in the IOJ&K and present the gravity of the situation in the valley, Pakistan’s Ambassador in Ukraine Major General (retd) Zahid Mubashir Sheikh said that the Right to Self-determination Day was being observed in solidarity with our Kashmiri brethren of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir who are being subjected to the worst kind of oppression, state terrorism, imposed curfew, and put the valley under complete communication blackout.
Ambassador Major General (retd) Zahid Mubashir Sheikh said that India’s unrestrained oppression has reached unprecedented levels with the inhuman lockdown now in place for over 150 days. He said that although, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), Amnesty International, Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), European Parliament, UN Committee on South Asia etc. called on the Indian government to respect and protest human rights in Kashmir but in complete disregard to international law, the curfew continues till days.
The ambassador said that the current situation in IOJ&K is the worst in recent history where the people have been deprived of their fundamental rights including rights to life, food, health, freedom of expression and assembly, as well as self-determination. He said that the people of IOJ&K are being subjected to collective punishment by Indian occupation forces who have converted the territory into the largest militarized zone in the world.
Major General (retd) Zahid Mubashir Sheikh emphasized that the United Nations, especially the Security Council, bear the responsibility to ensure fulfilment of the promise of granting the right to self-determination to the Kashmiris. He said that India’s illegal and unilateral action of August 5, 2019 aimed altering the disputed status of IOJ&K and bringing about demographic change to undermine the right to self-determination of Kashmiris have been widely rejected.
The ambassador further added that the government of Pakistan condemns the illegal, unilateral, reckless and coercive attempt by India to alter the disputed status of IOJ&K as enshrined in the UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions. He reiterated that Pakistan will continue to provide moral, diplomatic and political support to the Kashmiri people till the fate of Kashmir is decided according to the UNSC Resolutions and wishes of its people.
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