ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi Tuesday addressed a letterwith comprehensive factsheet to the United Nations secretary general andthe UN Security Council president outlining Pakistan’s legal case on theJammu & Kashmir dispute.
According to a Foreign Office press release, the letter, along with adetailed factsheet and comprehensive annexures, highlights the illegal,unilateral, coercive Indian actions of August 5, 2019, which aim atbringing about a demographic change in the Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir(IOJ&K), to change the Muslim majority of the state to a minority, with aview to preempt the UN administered plebiscite envisaged under numerous UNSecurity Council resolutions to ascertain the wishes of the Kashmiris tojoin Pakistan or India.
The foreign minister’s letter not only builds on Pakistan’s efforts tosensitize the international community about the continuing Indianatrocities in the IOJ&K, but also presents Pakistan’s comprehensiveposition on the Jammu & Kashmir dispute, including the relevant UN SecurityCouncil resolutions, bilateral agreements and relevant letters to the UN ina sequential manner, laying out the international law and Pakistan’s legalcase on Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
The foreign minister emphasizes that not only the Indian actions are instark violation of its international commitments, but they also contravenethe numerous bilateral commitments, including the Simla Agreement, LahoreDeclaration (1999), Islamabad Declaration (2004), Joint Statement of theNational Security Advisers & Foreign Secretaries of both countries(December 2015) and Pakistan – India Joint Statement (December 2015), whichclearly accept the disputed status of IOJ&K and reaffirm the commitment ofpeaceful resolution of the same.
In line with the prime minister’s commitment to the Kashmiris, the foreignminister’s letter is part of Pakistan’s ongoing diplomatic efforts tosensitize the international community to the plight of innocent Kashmiris,incarcerated for more than seven weeks now and bearing the brunt of Indianatrocities for the last seven decades.
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Indian aggression and hegemonic actions in the IOJ&K are a threat toregional peace and stability, and hold hostage peace and development onSouth Asia.
Pakistan will continue to extend political, moral and diplomatic support tothe Kashmiri struggle for the realization of the legitimate right ofself-determination, enshrined in numerous UN Security Council resolutionsfor an expedited resolution of the Jammu & Kashmir dispute, pendingresolution for more than seven decades.
