In India illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference leaders have demanded that the U.N. fulfill its obligations regarding the settlement of the Kashmir dispute under its resolutions, including the one passed on January 5, 1949.
According to Kashmir Media Service, they made the demand on the eve of adopting the January 5, 1949, U.N. resolution that guaranteed the Kashmiris’ Right to Self-Determination.
The APHC leaders Syed Bashir Andrabi, Khawaja Firdous, and Junaid-ud-Salam, in a joint statement in Srinagar, said that on January 5, 1949, the United Nations Commission for Pakistan and India (UNCIP) had passed a critical resolution, which granted the Kashmiris the right to decide their future by themselves. They said the Kashmiri people have rendered unparalleled sacrifices to secure their inalienable rights, and they are determined to continue their struggle till they complete success. They said that despite facing the brutal Indian occupation for the last seven decades, the Kashmiris remain steadfast in their demand for holding a referendum in Jammu and Kashmir.
APHC leader, Advocate Devendra Singh Behel, in a statement issued in Jammu, lamented that India had denied the right to self-determination to the people of occupied Kashmir for the last seven decades. He added that the international community, particularly the U.N., bears the responsibility to ensure that the Kashmiri people are allowed to exercise this right. He thanked Pakistan for its unwavering support of Kashmiris’ just cause.
Illegally detained APHC leader Noor Muhammad Fayaz, in a message from jail, said that the Kashmir dispute remained unresolved due to India’s stubbornness. He said the referendum under the U.N. resolutions is the best solution to the dispute. He urged the international community to hold India accountable for violating its international obligation to Kashmir and force it to resolve the Kashmir dispute without any further delay.
APHC leader Abdul Samad Inqilabi, in a statement in Srinagar, deplored that India is victimizing the people of occupied Jammu and Kashmir for demanding their internationally recognized right to self-determination. However, he maintained that the Kashmiris would continue their struggle till they were given this right.
The Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Freedom League spokesman, Muhammad Umar, in a statement in Srinagar, said the denial of the right to self-determination to the Kashmiris by India had resulted in their continued suffering for the last several decades. He urged the U.N. Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, to take notice of the deteriorating situation in Jammu and Kashmir and invoke the resolutions of August 13, 1948, and January 5, 1949, for holding a free, fair, and impartial plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir, as per the U.N. resolutions.
