In the context of Kashmir Solidarity Day, Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi has addressed a letter to the President of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the United Nations Secretary General to apprise them of the deteriorating human rights and humanitarian situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and the continuing threat to peace and security.
In his letter, the Foreign Minister has underscored that all illegal and unilateral measures imposed by India in IIOJK since 5 August 2019, including attempts to change the demographic structure of the occupied territory, constitute flagrant violations of international law including the UN Charter and the relevant Security Council resolutions as well as the 4th Geneva Convention.
The Foreign Minister has highlighted India’s gross, systematic and widespread human rights violations including the recent spate of extra-judicial killings and staged encounters in IIOJK. He has drawn particular attention to the targeting of the independent journalist community. The letter notes that India’s refusal to allow unfettered access to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for conducting an independent investigation is a typical response by repressive occupying regimes to avoid scrutiny of their excesses.
Noting the RSS-BJP leadership’s intensified belligerent rhetoric against Pakistan, including threats of military aggression, the Foreign Minister has recalled India’s track record of orchestrating “false flag” operations for rallying domestic political support. He has warned that India might again resort to such reckless behaviour for electoral gains.
The Foreign Minister’s letter has also reaffirmed that Pakistan desires peaceful relations with all its neighbours, including India. While underlining that a just settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is essential for durable peace and stability in South Asia, the Foreign Minister has stressed that the onus is on India to create a conducive environment for meaningful and result-oriented engagement.
The Foreign Minister has been regularly communicating with the Security Council and the UN Secretary General in order to keep the UN fully informed of the grave situation in IIOJK, and to remind the Security Council of its responsibility to ensure the implementation of its resolutions on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
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