Accession to Pakistan Day
-Says, Kashmiris’ right to self determination was recognized by UNSC
-Emphasizes on Kashmiri people struggle against Hindutva supremacist
-Says justice will prevail
By Ajmal Khan Yousafzai
Islamabad: Prime Minister Imran Khan Sunday reaffirmed Pakistan’s unflinching commitment to the people of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K) and their right to self determination.
In a series of tweets, the prime minister on the occasion of the Youm-i-Ilhaq-e-Pakistan), said this right to self determination was recognized by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the international laws.
“Today we commemorate the historic occasion of Youm-i-Ilhaq-e-Pakistan, when Kashmiris passed a resolution for accession to Pakistan. We reaffirm our commitment to the Kashmiri people & stand with them in their struggle for self-determination,” the prime minister tweeted. He further posted, “Kashmiris right of self-determination is recognised by the UNSC under international law.” The prime minister also expressed his resolve to fight for justice for the oppressed Kashmiri people, struggling against brutal and illegitimate actions of Hindutva supremacist Indian government.
“We will continue to fight for justice for Kashmiris as they struggle against the brutal and illegal actions of the Hindutva supremacist Indian govt in IOJ&K. I know that justice will prevail”, he added.
July 19 is observed every year in renewal of the historical resolution of Kashmir’s accession to Pakistan passed by the people of the state.
The All Jammu Kashmir Muslim Conference on July 19, 1947, in Srinagar had demanded the-then Dogra rulers to materialise the accession of the Jammu Kashmir state to Pakistan, honouring the decision and point of view of the majority population of the Muslim majority in the state.
In a tweet on Sunday, the premier reiterated that Kashmiris’ right of self-determination is recognised by the United Nations Security Council as well as international laws. “We will continue to fight for justice for Kashmiris as they struggle against the brutal & illegal actions of the Hindutva Supremacist Indian govt in IOJK,” he said. “We reaffirm our commitment to the Kashmiri people and stand with them in their struggle for self-determination.” Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that July 19 marked the day when “true representatives of Jammu and Kashmir adopted a historic resolution for accession to Pakistan”.
“Despite decades of Indian occupation, resolve of Kashmiris & immutable bonds to [Pakistan] stand strong,” he said, adding that the country “reaffirms unwavering support to Kashmiris in their just struggle for freedom”.
PML-N chief and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif said that the world “must know that no other people have suffered as much as Kashmiris have for demanding their UN-sanctioned right to self-determination”.
Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari paid tribute to Kashmiris’ courage, saying that “generation after generation of Kashmiri men, women and children have confronted & resisted Indian occupation, brutality & incarceration”.
Addressing a seminar at National Press Club in Islamabad, Special Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir Chairman Shehryar Khan Afridi said the government of Pakistan continues to provide political and diplomatic support to the people of the occupied valley.
According to Radio Pakistan, he said India was violating international laws in the valley, adding that the world must take note and warn Delhi about the implications of its actions in the region. He urged the United Nations to take notice of Indian atrocities in the occupied valley. He also stated that he will visit the Line of Control on Eidul Azha as he had done on Eidul Fitr, adding that all “political leadership needed to be on ground”.
On August 5 last year, the Indian government repealed Article 370 of its constitution, stripping occupied Kashmir of its special status. It also divided up occupied Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories; one Jammu and Kashmir, and the other the Buddhist-dominated high altitude region of Ladakh. The bifurcation of the territory came into effect on October 31 last year. A strict lockdown and communications blackout has been in place in occupied Kashmir since then, with only partial relief. In April, amid the ongoing coronavirus lockdown, the Indian government notified new domicile laws for occupied Kashmir, making an unspecified number of outsiders eligible for residency and jobs.
As many as 25,000 non-locals have been granted domicile certificates in Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir since May 18, which local politicians believe is the beginning of a move to disturb the demographic profile of the region.
Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir National Front (JKNF) on Sunday while terming 19th July as a defining moment in the Kashmir’s history has said that it was on this historic date when Kashmiri leadership unanimously decided to link their future with yet to born state of Pakistan.
In a statement issued on the occasion of Kashmir accession day, the JKNF spokesman while highlighting the significance of the day said that the resolution adopted a month before the creation of Pakistan demonstrated Kashmiris’ unconditional love for Pakistan. Referring to partition plan he said that the state of Jammu and Kashmir was geographically, historically and culturally and ethnically part of Pakistan but India’s policy of deceit and deception, expansionism and perpetual denial to implement the UN resolutions on Kashmir has pushed the region into a quagmire of uncertainty.
Referring to the unprecedented sacrifices rendered by the Kashmiri nation the spokesman said that Kashmiris have witnessed relentless killings, widespread death and destruction at the hands of Indian occupation forces.
During the decades’ long struggle for right to self-determination, the spokesman pointed out that hundreds of thousands of people have been severely tortured and rendered disabled while the human rights violations at the hands of Indian occupation troops have become order of the day. Reiterating Kashmiris’ pledge to take the ongoing struggle to its logical conclusion the JKNF spokesman said that day was not far when Kashmiris will achieve their cherished goal of freedom from Indian occupation. The JKNF spokesman also thanked the state of Pakistan for its continued political, moral and diplomatic support to Kashmiris’ just cause.
