MESSAGE FROM
PRESIDENT DR. ARIF ALVI ON THE OCCASION OF THE RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION DAY
Every year, on the 5th of January, we renew our support for the right to self-determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. On this day in 1949, the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) unanimously adopted a resolution affirming the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people through a free and impartial plebiscite under the auspices of the United Nations.
The right to self-determination is a cardinal
principle of international law, upheld in numerous core United Nations
Treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. For
decades, it has been reaffirmed by the UN General Assembly in its annual
resolution on self-determination. However, the last 76 years of India’s
occupation of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) are a sad
story of repression of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
India is trying to consolidate its occupation of
IIOJK. The Indian Supreme Court’s judgement of 11 December 2023 on the status
of this disputed territory is the latest step in this direction. India is
trying to subjugate the Kashmiris through such oppressive tactics further. It
continues to deny their inalienable right to self-determination and live with
freedom and dignity.
Today’s commemoration is aimed at reminding the
international community of its responsibility towards the oppressed Kashmiri
people. The United Nations must honour the commitments that it made 75 years
ago and support the Kashmiri people’s struggle for self-determination.
Pakistan remains determined to play its role in supporting the right to self-determination of Kashmiris through a free and impartial plebiscite as per the United Nations Security Council resolutions. Our strong and steadfast moral, political and diplomatic support for the Kashmiri people will continue till the realisation of this inalienable right.