Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has reiterated Pakistan’s resolve to continue extending diplomatic, moral and political support for the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue as per aspirations of the Kashmiri people and UN resolutions.
Addressing Special Session of the Azad Kashmir Legislative Assembly in Muzaffarabad on Monday afternoon, he said India cannot impose any unilateral solution on Kashmir. He said Kashmir has been an important point of the foreign policy of Pakistan.
The Prime Minister said Pakistan has always raised the voice for Kashmir cause on all world fora. He said this resolve has the support of the people of Pakistan.
Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said Kashmir issue can only be resolved through a plebiscite under UN auspices and as per resolutions of the United Nations and aspirations of the people of Kashmir.
The Prime Minister said Jammu and Kashmir being a Muslim majority area of British India should have been part of Pakistan but the aspirations of Kashmiri people were crushed by force and conspiracies.
He said the area of Azad Jammu and Kashmir was freed after a lot of struggle and Pakistan remains committed to its progress and development.
The Prime Minister said India took the dispute to the United Nations which recognized the territory as disputed and decided in favor of a free and fair plebiscite to be held under the auspices of the United Nations.
He said decades have passed but the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir have not been given the opportunity to decide their future.
Reiterating Pakistan’s unflinching support to the Kashmiri people, Anwaar ul Haq Kakar urged India to respect its promises made before the UN Security Council and above all to the people of IIOJK.
He said Indian claims of being largest democracy are all hollow and the UNSC resolutions will never go redundant.
Drawing attention toward Indian atrocities in IIOJK, Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said the Indian leadership is using all tactics to further consolidate its occupation in the area. He said the BJP-RSS alliance is committing violence and using force against innocent Kashmiris. He said unprecedented tyranny has been unleashed in IIOJK under the venomous ideology of Hindutva.
The Prime Minister said India has turned the IIOJK as an open prison and Kashmiris are living in an atmosphere of fear and oppression. He said there is complete media blackout in IIOJK, while political leaders and workers are facing incarcerations and their properties are being confiscated. He said an onslaught on the culture of Kashmir is going on in IIOJK. Besides, arrests, torture and extrajudicial killings have become order of the day. He said the Indian forces are doing this with impunity under draconian laws.
Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said over 96,000 Kashmiris have lost their lives during last 35 years as a result. He said women are being harassed, while pellet gun is used to blind Kashmiris. He said all such atrocities should come to an end. He demanded of the world to hold culprits involved in these heinous acts accountable.
He said whatever happened in Kashmir is not less than a human tragedy. There is documentary evidence of Indian oppression in IIOJK and the world should take notice of this barbarism. He said the international community should held India answerable for committing serious human rights violations and bloodshed in the IIOJK.
The Prime Minister recalled that India has been using many tactics to strengthen its illegal occupation on Kashmir for the last 76 years. However, a swift strategy has been continuing with full pace since 5 August 2019 to snatch Kashmiris’ rights for their land. On that day, India revoked the Special Status of Kashmir and brought it under the direct control of New Delhi by dividing Kashmir into two so-called union territories.
Besides, the Indian authorities attempted to change political and demographic structure of Kashmir by granting domicile certificates and voting rights to non-Kashmiris. He said all these acts are a sheer violation of the international law, relevant UN resolutions, human rights agreements and fourth Geneva Convention.
The Prime Minister lamented that for last several decades India has been blatantly trying to tarnish the indigenous struggle of Kashmiri people by linking it with terrorism.
He said terrorism is an international issue and its most dreadful aspect is when it is committed by a state just like India in IIOJK.
Anwaar ul Haq Kakar said India is also claiming the territory of Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Kashmir. He reiterated that Pakistan believes in peaceful coexistence and is exercising restraint. However it has both the power and resilience to effectively respond to any aggression and India has tested Pakistan many a times and if there is any such desire in future we are ready for that.
The Prime Minister said if India is a true democracy, it should give Kashmiri people the right to decide their future, should stop human rights violations in the territory and free all political prisoners, suspend emergency laws and call back its troops from the territory.
It should avoid changing demography of the territory and allow independent observers’ access to the territory to analyze the ground situation.
The Prime Minister said Pakistan is committed to support the Kashmiri people till their struggle reaches its logical conclusion.