Kashmir resolution key to peace, stability in South Asia: AJK president

MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry, terming the Kashmir as the oldest unresolved issue pending on the UN agenda, said the resolution of the Kashmir issue is key to peace and stability in the South Asia.

The AJK president was addressing a protest demonstration outside the UN headquarters, where he, referring to the UNHRC’s 2018 and 2019 report on the human rights situation in Kashmir, said that these reports were sufficient enough to stir the conscience of those who chose to stay silent despite knowing New Delhi’s dodgy and destructive role in the region. He said it is high time the international community needed to come forward to help stop the ongoing Indian atrocities in the Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K) and play its proactive role to resolve the dispute once and for all.

“We have gathered here to show solidarity with the people of IIOJ&K and assure them that they are not alone in their struggle,” he said, adding that Kashmiris living all over the world will continue to raise their voice for their right to self-determination.

The president voiced his grave concern over the massive troops deployment in the region, saying that the political and human rights situation in Kashmir had deteriorated to an alarming level after the Indian government took the unilateral decision to revoke the Article 370 and 35-A of the Indian Constitution that had guaranteed special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

Denouncing the Indian government’s abominable act of changing the demographic character of the region, the AJK president said that under the guise of this unconstitutional move, the Modi-led government had issued fake domiciles to two million non-state subjects with a malicious intent to alter the region’s demography.

He said the people of Kashmir were fighting against the 900,000 Indian troops illegally deployed, adding that despite its ruthless policy of oppression, India could not break the political will of Kashmiris. “The sacrifices of the martyrs in the Kashmir valley will pay off soon and the region will be free from the Indian atrocities,” he said.

Barrister Sultan appealed to the UN and OIC to take serious note of these reprehensible activities and take measures to stop them and warned that if the Kashmir problem is left unattended, it can have dangerous consequences. He also assured the protesters that he would continue his efforts to bring the world attention to the issue and would travel to every nook and corner of the world to accomplish his goal. The president also appealed to the world community to redouble their efforts and become a voice of the voiceless people of Kashmir to help them realise their goal of freedom from the Indian occupation.

Prominent Kashmiri intellectual and Chairman, World Forum for Peace and Justice Dr Ghulam Nabi said the UN must play its active role in finding a peaceful and permanent solution to the Kashmir dispute.

Meanwhile, a detailed memorandum was presented to the Secretary General of the United Nations on the Kashmir issue and the violation of human rights in the IIOJ&K. The memorandum sought a just and equitable solution to the dispute in accordance with the UNSC resolutions. The communique said that regular discussions on the situation in Kashmir must be held in the United Nations Security Council.