Kashmiris observe ‘Right to Self-Determination Day’
ISLAMABAD (AA) – Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control, a de facto border dividing the disputed Himalayan region between Pakistan and India, and all around the world observed the Right to Self-Determination Day on Thursday, taking out rallies and holding seminars to highlight their plight.
Pakistan reiterated its political, diplomatic, and moral support to Kashmiris in their struggle for the right to self-determination in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
The UN Security Council’s commitment made on Jan. 5, 1949, calls for a UN-supervised plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir, but despite the passing of 74 years the promise remains unfulfilled, said Pakistan’s President Arif Alvi in a message.
The international community, especially the United Nations, bears the responsibility to ensure the fulfillment of this promise and support the people of Kashmir in exercising their inalienable right to self-determination, said Alvi.
Kashmir is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of the region is also controlled by China.
On Jan. 5, 1949, following a full-scale war between Pakistan and India in 1948, the UN pledged that the Jammu and Kashmir dispute would be decided through a free and fair plebiscite, but the exercise was never carried out.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif tweeted: “Peace & development in South Asia are linked to resolution of Kashmir dispute. On Right to Self-determination Day today, I call upon global community to play its part in giving Kashmiris of IIOJK (Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir) their legal right to decide their destiny. India must reverse its actions of Aug 5.”
Kashmir Diaspora Coalition (KDC), an alliance of various Kashmiri advocacy groups working around the globe, said in a statement that “non-compliance of India” with the implementation of UN-mandated right to self-determination in Jammu and Kashmir and the UN’s “failure” to implement its decision over seven decades have added to enormous ongoing sufferings of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
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