SRINAGAR – Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control and the world over are observing the Right to Self-Determination Day, today, with the pledge that they would continue the struggle for settlement of the Kashmir dispute through a free and fair plebiscite under the auspices of the United Nations.
According to Kashmir Media Service, it was on this day in 1949 when the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution supporting the Kashmiris’ right to decide their future by themselves through UN-sponsored plebiscite. The day was marked by various activities including rallies, seminars and conferences in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan and across the world to remind the UN to save the Kashmiris from the Indian brutalities by implementing its resolutions on Kashmir.
The All Parties Hurriyat Conference in a statement issued in Srinagar said that the resolutions passed by the United Nations Security Council on Jammu and Kashmir legitimize the struggle of the Kashmiri people to achieve their right to self-determination. The statement said that these resolutions are testimony to the fact that the Indian occupation of Jammu and Kashmir was unjustified, illegal and against all norms and standards of the international law.
The APHC appealed to the international community particularly the United Nations to hold an impartial plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir so that the Kashmiris can decide their future themselves. The APHC also condemned the continued lockdown of the territory by the Indian government.
The forum led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in a statement in Srinagar said that the people of occupied Kashmir had been deprived of all basic rights at gunpoint. It appealed to the world to prevent India from pursuing the policy of suppression in the territory. The forum made it clear that the Kashmiri people as well as the leadership cannot be forced to change their principled stand on Kashmir through nefarious tactics.
Hurriyat leaders including Abdul Majeed Malik, Abdul Majid Mir, Aijaz Rehmani and Advocate Pervez Ahmad Shah in their addresses and statements denounced the continued military siege of occupied Kashmir by India.
Meanwhile, the residents of the Kashmir Valley and Muslim areas of Jammu region continued to face hardships on the 154th consecutive day, today, due to the military siege and lockdown imposed by the Indian authorities. The harsh winter and the closure of Srinagar-Jammu high have added to the miseries of the besieged people.
A protest rally organized by APHC-AJK was held outside the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, today. Speakers on the occasion urged the United Nations to implement its resolutions on Kashmir.
Minister for Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan Affairs Ali Amin Khan Gandapur in his message on the occasion said, India has killed millions of Kashmiris due to failure of the UN and the international community.
He said Indian action of 5 August, last year in Occupied Kashmir and citizenship bill against Indian Muslims has made clear the intentions of Hindu extremists.
The Minister said after the 5 August illegal action of India the situation has become very serious and now Kashmiris are being massacred in curfew.
