-Pakistan summons Indian official to record protest on AJK elections statement
-FO says India cannot hide the fact that it is in illegal occupation of parts of Jammu and Kashmir
-Adds the people of AJK enjoy the fruits of free and participatory electoral process
By Asghar Ali Mubarak
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan summoned the Indian charge d’affaires on Friday to categorically reject the Indian Ministry of External Affairs’ “false, untenable and self-serving comments” on the recently-held elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
According to a press release issued by the Foreign Office, the Indian Charge d’ Affaires was summoned to the foreign ministry to convey Pakistan’s complete rejection of India’s sham protest and to reiterate Pakistan’s clear and consistent position on the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
“India cannot hide the fact that it is in illegal occupation of parts of Jammu and Kashmir. To perpetuate its occupation of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK), India has committed horrendous human rights violations against innocent Kashmiris over the past seven decades, and particularly since 5 August 2019,” the press release stated.
The FO maintaned that while the people of AJK enjoy the fruits of the free and participatory electoral process, IIOJK bleeds under India’s illegal occupation.
“The Jammu and Kashmir dispute between Pakistan and India has been on the agenda of the UN Security Council since 1948. It remains an internationally recognized dispute, as affirmed by the relevant Security Council resolutions,” the communiqué stated.
It further added that despite the solemn commitments made by the Government of India in numerous official communications to the Security Council, to Pakistan, to other states and to the people of Jammu and Kashmir to abide by and implement the UN Security Council’s resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir, India has reneged on these commitments over the years.
“India’s illegal actions of 5 August 2019, seeking to unilaterally alter the internationally recognized disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir and India’s illegal steps to change the occupied territory’s demographic structure, contravene several UN Security Council resolutions,” the MoFA maintained. The Security Council had clearly delineated the principle that the final disposition of the State of Jammu and Kashmir would be made in accordance with the will of the people, expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite conducted under the auspices of the United Nations, the press release further added.
