Kashmir Solidarity Day: PM reaffirms unwavering support for Kashmiri self-determination

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued the following message on the occasion of Kashmir Solidarity Day, reiterating Pakistan’s unwavering support for the self-determination of the Kashmiri people.

Every year, 5th February is observed as Kashmir Solidarity Day. On this occasion, the people and the Government of Pakistan reaffirm their principled and unwavering support for their Kashmiri brothers and sisters in their just struggle for the realization of their right to self-determination.

The Jammu and Kashmir dispute remains one of the oldest unresolved disputes on the agenda of the United Nations. Over the years, several United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions have established, beyond doubt, the disputed status of the territory of Jammu and Kashmir, while prescribing that its final disposition must be made in accordance with the will of the Kashmiri people, expressed through a fair and impartial plebiscite. However, for nearly eight decades, the Kashmiri people have been denied this fundamental right, due to India’s intransigence.

Even after decades of bloodshed, brutality and barbarity, the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) remains a hostile environment, marred by heavy militarization, total repression and egregious human rights violations. Arbitrary political detentions, suppression of genuine political activity and severe restrictions on media have become India’s routine instruments to silence dissent in IIOJK.

On 5 August 2019, India took a host of illegal and unilateral administrative and legal measures in an attempt to consolidate its forcible occupation of IIOJK. These measures not only contravene the UN Charter but also completely defy the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the Fourth Geneva Convention. Such hollow attempts by India to carry out demographic re-engineering, or to alter the legal and administrative status of Kashmir, cannot absolve it from its international commitments and obligations, nor could they diminish the inalienable rights of the Kashmiri people.

India’s illegal actions in IIOJK are driven by Hindutva ideology that seeks to normalize discrimination, curtail religious freedoms, and criminalize dissent. The ongoing profiling of mosques and their management committees in IIOJK represents a grave violation of the right to freedom of religion and highlights the discrimination faced by the Muslim population. Regrettably, the Indian occupation has moved beyond military repression to ideological coercion, aimed at silencing and disempowering an entire people.

Despite enduring decades of oppression, the brave and valiant Kashmiri people refuse to surrender their legitimate aspirations. Pakistan salutes their heroic resilience, courage, and sacrifices.

As Prime Minister of Pakistan, I have been a strong advocate for the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people at every international forum, including the United Nations General Assembly.

On this Kashmir Solidarity Day, I reassure my Kashmiri brothers and sisters that Pakistan will continue to extend its complete moral, diplomatic, and political support to the Kashmir freedom struggle until the Kashmiri people succeed in attaining their right to self-determination through a free and impartial plebiscite, as promised to them under the auspices of the United Nations.

Inshallah, the days of darkness shall give way to the dawn of freedom, and that day is not far, when the people of Jammu and Kashmir shall break the shackles of Indian occupation and live their lives in a future free from fear.