Pakistan tells UNSC Kashmir is ‘not India’s internal matter’

Pakistan on Friday rejected India’s claim that Jammu and Kashmir was its “integral part” or “an internal matter”, telling the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) that the territory remained an internationally recognised dispute that should be resolved in accordance with relevant UNSC resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.

The remarks were made by Counsellor Saima Saleem while exercising Pakistan’s right of reply during a UNSC open debate on strengthening mechanisms for the peaceful settlement of disputes. “Jammu and Kashmir is neither a so-called integral part of India nor its internal matter,” Pakistan’s representative at the UNSC told her Indian counterpart.

She said India’s assertions could not “rewrite history, change Jammu and Kashmir’s internationally recognised disputed status, or conceal nearly eight decades of systematic human rights violations against the Kashmiri people, including denial of their inalienable right to self-determination.”

Calling on India to respect international law, Saima said it was “ironic to hear India preaching peace while breaching international law and Security Council resolutions, and practising aggression against its neighbours, repression in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, persecution of minorities, and perpetrating state-sponsored terrorism across the region and beyond.”

Responding to India’s remarks during the debate, she said the Indian delegation had attempted to undermine the discussion through “denial, distortion, false accusations and gross misrepresentation of its conduct”.

She said India had itself brought the Jammu and Kashmir dispute before the Security Council before later disregarding its resolutions.

“Let me remind the Indian delegation that Security Council resolutions do not have an expiry date,” she said, stressing that respect for international law remained essential for maintaining international peace and security.

Saima also accused India of committing widespread human rights violations, including arbitrary detentions, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and restrictions on political freedoms in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and elsewhere in the country.

Comparing Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) with IIOJK, she said Kashmiris in AJK exercised their political rights and enjoyed freedom of expression, whereas voices in IIOJK were silenced and dissent criminalised.

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She stated that thousands of cases of arbitrary detention, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, conflict-related sexual violence, political repression and demographic changes had been documented in IIOJK, while the Kashmiri people continued to be denied their right to self-determination.

Highlighting what she described as India’s disregard for international law, Saima cited New Delhi’s unilateral decision to place the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance.

She said the Indus River was the lifeline of more than 240 million people and should never be used as a “weapon of war”, warning that such actions could undermine peace and security in South Asia.

Saima also mentioned that India sponsored terrorism against Pakistan, saying groups backed by New Delhi had carried out attacks that caused nearly 100,000 casualties, including children.

She called out India for supporting militant groups operating through the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the Majeed Brigade.

In support of her allegations, she cited the arrest of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav in Pakistan as well as what she described as assassinations carried out by Indian operatives in North America through proxies. “India’s terrorist franchise has gone from regional to global,” she said.

Saima also accused India’s “Hindutva-inspired right-wing fascist RSS-BJP government” of normalising hate crimes and discrimination against Muslims and other minority communities.

“Christians are persecuted, Dalits dehumanised and Sikhs disenfranchised in the largest hypocrisy of the world,” she said.

Concluding her remarks, Saima said Pakistan had consistently exercised restraint despite tensions with India and remained committed to dialogue and the peaceful settlement of disputes.

“The path to peace in South Asia lies neither in denial nor in defiance, but in adherence to the Charter and international law,” she said, urging India to honour its treaty obligations and engage in the peaceful settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in line with relevant UNSC resolutions.