NEW YORK: Pakistan’s UN ambassador Munir Akram highlighted the similarities between the situations in occupied Palestine and Indian Kashmir, saying at a Kashmir solidarity meeting on Monday that both violate two fundamental principles of international law – the right to self-determination and the right to non-acquisition. territory by force.
Speaking on the occasion, he said that the main conclusions of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Palestine apply not only to the occupied Palestinian territory occupied by Israel, but have become part of international law and also apply to Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
“The UN also has an obligation to ‘not recognize’ the illegal situation and to ‘consider further steps’ to end the illegal presence of the occupying power,” Ambassador Akram said at a meeting marking the fifth anniversary of India’s annexation. Jammu and Kashmir.
“Pakistan will seek to apply these findings of the International Court of Justice in the case of Palestine as well as in the case of Occupied Jammu and Kashmir,” he told a gathering jointly organized by the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the United Nations and the Consulate General. of Pakistan in New York.
The event was attended by a large number of people including the Permanent Representative of Turkey, Ambassador Ahmet Yildiz, diplomats belonging to the OIC Contact Group on Kashmir, members of the Kashmiri diaspora community and youth and students.
In addition to Ambassador Akram, those who spoke at the event included Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary General of the World Forum for Kashmir Awareness, Abdelhamid Siyam, Senior Palestinian Journalist and Professor, Ambassador Hameed Ajibaiye Opeloyeru, Permanent Observer of the OIC Mission to the United Nations, Senator Lt. General (rtd) Abdul Qayyum, Former Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Defense Production .
At the opening, Consul General Aamer Ahmed Atozai welcomed the distinguished speakers and guests for taking the time to express unwavering solidarity with the oppressed people of Indian Kashmir.
He emphasized the importance of “Youm-e-Istehsal” and the ongoing struggle of the Kashmiri people for the right to self-determination.
Consul General Atozai said the Indian government’s moves aimed at demographic change in Jammu and Kashmir were a clear attempt to change the region’s Muslim-majority character. Issuing more than 4.2 million domicile certificates to non-Kashmiri, grabbing land and allowing non-Kashmiri to buy property and register to vote are all part of a settler colonial project in violation of international law.
“This project aims to disenfranchise the Kashmiri people and constitutes a war crime under international law.”
At Monday’s meeting, speakers including diplomats, human rights activists, academics and journalists linked the establishment of lasting peace and security to the resolution of long-standing political disputes and the granting of the right to self-determination to people under foreign occupation, particularly those in occupied Kashmir and Palestine.
While highlighting the striking similarities between the freedom struggle of Kashmir and Palestine, the speakers identified the right to self-determination as a key point of the UN Charter and a basic condition without which sustainable peace and stability is not possible.
In his remarks, Ambassador Akram focused on flagrant violations of international law, the UN Charter and Security Council resolutions during the Indian occupation of Jammu and Kashmir.
Elaborating on the key points of the ICJ advisory opinion, Ambassador Akram stated that foreign occupation violates the principles of self-determination and non-acquisition of territory by force of the UN Charter. He said that the imposition of national laws and the imposition of permanent control by the occupying powers in occupied Kashmir violates international conventions.
He said the method of self-determination should be decided by the UN General Assembly or the Security Council. For Jammu and Kashmir, the Security Council ordered a UN-sponsored plebiscite. According to him, the demographic and legal changes of the occupying power violate the principle of non-acquisition of territory by force and the specific UN resolution on Jammu and Kashmir.
Pakistan’s envoy said the long-term occupation exacerbated the denial of self-determination and required an urgent solution. He said that in line with the ICJ’s view, other states must cooperate to end the occupation, not recognize the changes imposed by India and ensure compliance by the Indian occupying power.
He also said that the President of the Security Council, the President of the General Assembly and the Secretary-General of the United Nations had received a letter from Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, outlining six key conclusions:
— India’s illegal occupation has led to serious violations of the human rights of the Kashmiri people;
— India’s demographic and legal changes in Jammu and Kashmir violate UN resolutions and the Fourth Geneva Convention, constituting “war crimes”;
— Despite repression, India cannot stifle Kashmiri efforts for freedom and self-determination;
— The Kashmir dispute poses a clear threat to international peace and security;
— India’s military build-up could trigger regional arms races and aggression; a “strategic containment regime” should be adopted; and,
— The international community cannot ignore the serious threat to peace and security in South Asia.
Pakistan, he said, would “strongly and proactively” highlight the Jammu and Kashmir dispute next year as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in an effort to seek a solution based on the UN Charter, the UN
resolution and will of the Kashmiri people.
Ambassador Hameed Ajibaiye Opeloyeru, Permanent Observer of the OIC Mission to the UN, said that the OIC has consistently called on the international community to speed up action in the implementation of UN resolutions, while relying on India to respect and uphold the basic and fundamental human rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
“This includes the need to refrain from changing the demographic structure and reality of the disputed territory,” he said.
Ambassador Hameed also referred to various OIC resolutions in which the 57-member body on August 5, 2019 called for the reversal of unilateral moves by the Indian authorities.
He also reiterated the OIC’s call to all UN member states to support the implementation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions on the peaceful settlement of the territorial dispute in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiris.
Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary General of the World Forum for Kashmir Awareness, described Ambassador Munir Akram as a staunch supporter of the Kashmiri struggle for self-determination and said there were similarities between the colonial settler policies pursued by India in Kashmir and Israel in Palestine.
