UN PICTURE RELEASED BY PAK. PERMANENT MISSION
Mumtaz Hussain
UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan has once again made it clear at the United Nations Secretary Council that Jammu and Kashmir is not, and has never been a so-called “integral” part of India.
Kashmir is a disputed territory, whose “final disposition” is to be decided by the people of Jammu and Kashmir through a UN supervised plebiscite.
No amount of obfuscation can change the legal, political and historical reality about Kashmir
This was stated by Pakistan’s Counsellor Gul Qaiser Sarwani in response to a statement by the Indian delegate during the Secretary Council Open Debate on UN Peace Operations.
Mr Sarwani stated that the disputed status of Kashmir was acknowledged by the UN and the international community. Every official UN map depicts Jammu and Kashmir as disputed territory. India is under a legally binding obligation under Article 25 of the UN Charter to implement the resolutions of the Security Council and enable the people of Jammu and Kashmir to exercise their right to self-determination.
He said India holds Kashmir by brute force with over 900,000 troops and paramilitary forces in the occupied territory. India has killed over 100,000 innocent Kashmiris since 1989. It has imposed the densest occupation in history, with 1 Indian soldier for every 8 Kashmiri man, woman and child. India’s gross violations of human rights in occupied Kashmir have been recorded in two reports of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and numerous reports of the Human Rights Council’s Special Mechanisms.
“We also heard the Indian delegate raising the bogey of terrorism to divert attention from its violations of international law in occupied Jammu and Kashmir. It is most ironic that India, which is committing the worst form of state terrorism in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, is portraying itself as the victim. It is a familiar ploy of all occupiers and colonizers to paint legitimate struggles for freedom and liberation as terrorism.
“Instead of maligning others for terrorism, India should sincerely reflect on its own campaign of orchestrating targeted assassinations, subversion and terrorism in foreign countries. It is India which supports and finances terrorism against Pakistan through Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and the Majeed Brigade.”
He advised the India delegate to consult the UN maps and UN Security Council resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir before making baseless statements in this esteemed body.
