Pakistan committed to early, peaceful resolution of Kashmir dispute: FM Qureshi

ISLAMABAD, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi Tuesday said Pakistan remained committed to the early, just and peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions and wishes of the Kashmiri people.

Speaking during the meeting of OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir here, he said today’s interaction would help in taking stock of the political and security environment and the deteriorating humanitarian and human rights situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and consider ways and means to address these challenges.

“The right to self-determination is the fundamental tenet of international law. The right to decide one’s own destiny is the essence of freedom and is critical to human dignity. Unfortunately, the people of Jammu and Kashmir are yet to enjoy this inalienable right.”

“For the last seventy years Kashmiris have been living under the most atrocious occupation ever since the Indian forces illegally landed in Jammu and Kashmir. There is nothing as painful as a brutal occupation, and nothing as moving as the voice and plight of those braving it.”

“Unless addressed, the monumental betrayal of the Kashmiri people in contravention of the cardinal principles of international law, the UN Charter, and key human rights instruments, will continue to haunt the world conscience,” he added.

The minister said generations of Kashmiris had grown up under the shadow of fear, torture and intimidation. “It is a tale of heart-wrenching suppression and trauma caused by indiscriminate and unrestrained use of power. History has witnessed few parallels of such flagrant violations of fundamental rights as in the IIOJK. Gross violations of human rights, shameless brutality, remorseless moral bankruptcy and appalling atrocities characterize the reality of Indian occupation of Jammu and Kashmir today. A military force of over 900,000 Indian troops has turned the heavenly valley of Kashmir into the world’s largest prison.”

He recalled that Indian repression had intensified manifolds since the illegal and unilateral Indian actions of 05 August 2019. “It is beyond belief that almost the entire Kashmiri leadership remains incarcerated under inhuman conditions, often dying while in custody. Kashmiri youth is a specific target as they suffer illegal detentions, torture, enforced disappearances, indiscriminate use of pellet guns, and extra-judicial killings in staged cordon-and-search operations.”

Muslim majority in Kashmir was being turned into a minority in their own land through illegal demographic changes in violation of the international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention, he added.

He said the moral bankruptcy of Indian occupation forces was laid bare by the callous and inhuman attitude in handling the mortal remains of Syed Ali Geelani-the iconic Kashmir leader and freedom fighter.

The scale and spectrum of Indian abuses in IIOJK had exponentially grown with devastating human toll.