On 5 January 1949, the United Nations sanctified the right of self-determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. On that day, the UN Security Council’s Commission on India and Pakistan (UNCIP) adopted a resolution and guaranteed that “the question of the accession of the State of Jammu and Kashmir to India or Pakistan will be decided through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite”. This commitment by the international community, accepted by India and Pakistan, cannot be revoked or renounced until is fulfilled. Self-determination is a fundamental principle of the UN Charter. It is the basis for the independent existence of the vast majority of States. According to international law, developed in UN Conventions, Declarations and resolutions, the people of Jammu and Kashmir have the right to realize their freedom from India’s illegal occupation by all means at their disposal, and to seek and receive all kinds of moral and material assistance in support of their struggle for self-determination. Suppression of a legitimate freedom struggle is outlawed and amounts to the worst form of state terrorism. The unilateral and illegal actions by the Indian Government of 5 August 2019 by India’s BJP-RSS regime opened a new chapter in its oppression in Kashmir through a military siege by a 900,000-occupation force which has now lasted well over 500 days. The ominous “Final Solution” espoused by Hindutva leadership aims to crush the Kashmiris’ freedom movement and to permanently alter the demography of occupied Jammu and Kashmir. These unilateral changes are “null and void” and do not change the disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir, or erode the obligation of parties, including the United Nations, to hold the plebiscite prescribed by the UNSC resolutions. The UN Secretary General in his statement of 8 August 2019 categorically stated that the “position of the United Nation on this region is governed by the Charter of the United Nations and applicable Security Council Resolutions”. The International community has increasingly expressed its grave concern on India’s brutal occupation of IIOJ&K and continued suppression of fundamental rights of the Kashmiris. This is evident from mounting criticism of India’s actions by leading UN and international human rights bodies, independent experts and observers, international media and the civil society. India will not be able to colonize IIOJ&K. Its brutal occupation, persistent human rights violations and genocidal settler project will only intensify the desire of the Kashmiri people for freedom. The people of Pakistan, the Islamic world, and all freedom loving people across the world stand solidly with the people of Kashmir in their just struggle. We shall not rest until the people of Kashmir are able to realize their right to self-determination through a free and impartial plebiscite in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions. This is the only guarantee for a just and lasting peace in Jammu and Kashmir and in South Asia.
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