The Jammu and Kashmir dispute is one of the oldest unresolved international disputes. It has been on the agenda of the UN Security Council since 1948. The UN Security Council resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir affirm the right of the Kashmiri people to self-determination. Unfortunately, these resolutions have not been implemented despite lapse of over seven decades.
In the last 77 years, India has tried different methods to perpetuate its illegal rule on Jammu and Kashmir. However, an intensified campaign to ‘Indianize’ Kashmir, and transform Kashmiris into a disempowered community in their own land, has been in full swing since 5 August 2019. The Indian authorities have taken a number of steps, aimed at altering the demographic structure and political landscape of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
These measures include gerrymandering of the electoral constituencies, allowing addition of non-Kashmiris to electoral rolls, issuance of domicile certificates to outsiders, and introduction of new laws on ownership of land and property.
India is also denying the Kashmiri people their fundamental rights and freedoms. To crush dissent, the Indian authorities have created an environment of fear and intimidation in IIOJK, with the number of political prisoners being in thousands. The UN human rights machinery and a large number of independent observers have already expressed concerns about different facets of the dismal human rights situation in IIOJK.
India’s actions of 5 August 2019, and the subsequent steps ever since, constitute a breach of the UN Charter, UN Security Council resolutions, and international law, including 4th Geneva Convention. In the eyes of international law, any process, subservient to the Indian Constitution, cannot be invoked to determine the final status of Jammu and Kashmir, which is an internationally-recognized disputed territory. India will have to fulfill its obligations to the UN Security Council by granting the Kashmiri people their lawful and inalienable right to self-determination.
For its part, Pakistan will continue to extend all possible support to the people of IIOJK for the fullest realization of their legitimate rights. There is no doubt that durable peace and stability in South Asia can be achieved only through peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, in accordance with the relevant UNSC resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people.