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President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday renewed Pakistan’s call for a just and peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
In separate messages issued on the occasion of Kashmir Black Day, observed annually to mark the entry of Indian forces into Srinagar in 1947, both leaders reiterated Pakistan’s steadfast support for the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination.
In their separate messages issued on the occasion of Kashmir Black Day, both leaders called on the international community to take tangible steps toward the peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, in accordance with United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.
President Zardari called on the United Nations, global human rights bodies, and the international community to hold India accountable for grave and systematic human rights violations in IIOJK.
He emphasised that lasting peace and stability in South Asia depend on a just and durable settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, urging renewed international attention to the issue.
“On its part, Pakistan will continue its unwavering moral, diplomatic, and political support to the people of IIOJK who continue to endure oppression on daily basis. We stand united with our Kashmiri brethren in their struggle for justice, peace and self-determination,” President Secretariat Press Wing, in a press release, quoted the president as saying.
On this day in 1947, he said, Indian forces entered Srinagar in blatant violation of international law, moral principles, and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.
Since then, generations of innocent men, women, and children in IIOJK had endured unimaginable suffering under occupation, marked by violence, repression, and denial of their fundamental rights, he added.
“Every year, we observe this day as Kashmir Black Day to honour the valiant struggle and sacrifices of our Kashmiri brothers and sisters who continue to resist tyranny in their pursuit of the inalienable right to self-determination. Despite decades of Indian brutality, the spirit of resistance among the Kashmiri people remains unbroken,” the president reiterated.
After August 5, 2019, President Zardari further said this brutal campaign had only intensified, adding India had unilaterally revoked occupied Kashmir’s special status, imposing a military siege, destroying properties of Kashmiris to inflict ‘collective punishment’ and enforcing draconian laws that strip the Kashmiri people of their fundamental freedoms.
Echoing similar views, PM Shehbaz emphasised that lasting peace and stability in South Asia would remain elusive without a just and peaceful settlement of the Kashmir issue.
“Every year, Oct 27 marks the darkest day in the history of Kashmir… Ever since that fateful day, India has continued to deny the Kashmiri people their inalienable right to self-determination, as enshrined in numerous resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.”
“Every year, Oct 27 marks the darkest day in the history of Kashmir… Ever since that fateful day, India has continued to deny the Kashmiri people their inalienable right to self-determination, as enshrined in numerous resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.”
The prime minister added: “Since August 5, 2019, India has further intensified its illegal and unilateral actions, aimed at altering the demography and political status of IIOJK. In addition to human rights abuses, massive curbs have been imposed on freedom of movement and expression.”
“By imposing such draconian laws, India has unleashed a systematic campaign of violence and brutality to silence the legitimate political voices and crush the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. The unlawful and unjustified incarceration of several prominent Kashmiri leaders and activists, as well as media personalities, is an ugly manifestation of this Indian extremist agenda. Their continued imprisonment, under fabricated charges, is in blatant violation of international human rights norms,” he noted.
“As Prime Minister of Pakistan, I have always highlighted the plight of my Kashmiri brothers and sisters before the international community and echoed their calls for freedom from Indian occupation.
“We reaffirm our unwavering solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and will never relent in our commitment to the Kashmir cause, until justice is done and the promise of self-determination, pledged by the international community, is finally fulfilled. Inshallah, that day is not far,” the statement concluded.
