IN-DEPTH / DIPLOMATIC CHANNEL
Pakistan reaffirms support to Kashmiri people
Pakistan reaffirmed on Tuesday its "strong and steadfast" support to the valiant Kashmiri people in their just struggle for human dignity and inalienable right to self-determination in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions.
In a statement shared with the Global Times on Tuesday, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that through this resolution, the UN affirmed its support for realization of the inalienable right to self-determination of Kashmiris - a right from which all other fundamental freedoms and basic human rights emanate.
Regrettably, this right of Kashmiris is being brazenly denied by India in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) for more than seven decades. The UN, especially the UN Security Council, bear the responsibility to ensure fulfillment of the promise of granting the right to self-determination to the Kashmiris, Qureshi said.
India is the sole cause of non-fulfillment of this promise. Since August 5, 2019, India's unabated oppression has reached unprecedented levels with the inhuman military siege now in place for more than 500 days. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, India has deprived Kashmiris of their basic rights to life, health and food, the statement said.
Thanks to awakened global conscience, the fresh spate of India's illegal and unilateral actions, aimed at altering the disputed status of the IIOJK and bringing about demographic change to undermine the right to self-determination of Kashmiris, have been widely rejected by the international community.
The minister said that the international community must continue its support for the fundamental freedoms and basic human rights of Kashmiris and urge India to allow the UN to investigate the grave human rights violations in the IIOJK.
India must allow the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan unhindered access to carry out its duties in the IIOJK. If India has nothing to hide, why does it not allow international media and civil society to visit and report on the human rights situation in IIOJK? The statement asked.
"India and Pakistan are both important countries in South Asia. Harmonious co-existence between the two sides is vital to regional peace, stability and development. As a neighbor of both countries, China calls on the two sides to exercise restraint, resolve differences through dialogue, and jointly safeguard regional peace and stability," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian at a routine press conference on November 16, 2020 in Beijing.
China's position on the Kashmir issue is consistent and clear. It is an issue left over from history between India and Pakistan, which should be resolved properly and peacefully in accordance with the UN Charter, relevant Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements, Zhao said.
People wearing raincoats walk across a snow covered road as it snows at Lal Chowk on Monday, in Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. Photo: VCG
On Tuesday, Kashmiris around the world are observing the 72nd anniversary of UN's commitment that the Jammu and Kashmir dispute would be decided through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite under the UN auspices.In a statement shared with the Global Times on Tuesday, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that through this resolution, the UN affirmed its support for realization of the inalienable right to self-determination of Kashmiris - a right from which all other fundamental freedoms and basic human rights emanate.
Regrettably, this right of Kashmiris is being brazenly denied by India in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) for more than seven decades. The UN, especially the UN Security Council, bear the responsibility to ensure fulfillment of the promise of granting the right to self-determination to the Kashmiris, Qureshi said.
India is the sole cause of non-fulfillment of this promise. Since August 5, 2019, India's unabated oppression has reached unprecedented levels with the inhuman military siege now in place for more than 500 days. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, India has deprived Kashmiris of their basic rights to life, health and food, the statement said.
Thanks to awakened global conscience, the fresh spate of India's illegal and unilateral actions, aimed at altering the disputed status of the IIOJK and bringing about demographic change to undermine the right to self-determination of Kashmiris, have been widely rejected by the international community.
The minister said that the international community must continue its support for the fundamental freedoms and basic human rights of Kashmiris and urge India to allow the UN to investigate the grave human rights violations in the IIOJK.
India must allow the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan unhindered access to carry out its duties in the IIOJK. If India has nothing to hide, why does it not allow international media and civil society to visit and report on the human rights situation in IIOJK? The statement asked.
"India and Pakistan are both important countries in South Asia. Harmonious co-existence between the two sides is vital to regional peace, stability and development. As a neighbor of both countries, China calls on the two sides to exercise restraint, resolve differences through dialogue, and jointly safeguard regional peace and stability," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian at a routine press conference on November 16, 2020 in Beijing.
China's position on the Kashmir issue is consistent and clear. It is an issue left over from history between India and Pakistan, which should be resolved properly and peacefully in accordance with the UN Charter, relevant Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements, Zhao said.
RELATED ARTICLES
