Pakistan’s Appeal to the UN: Kashmir Issue

Pakistan considers IOK (Indian Occupied Kashmir) essential to its survival. On August 5, after India decided to take a long-considered move using article 370 of its constitution to change the status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, this survival became very difficult. This move caught Pakistan by surprise and made IOK seem even more distant. Since then, Pakistan has been trying to deal with this crisis diplomatically, without taking any kind of military action, and the UN has been Pakistan’s most important diplomatic tool.

Intensifying Conflict over Kashmir. Photo: wikimedia commons

In the UN General Assembly address on Sep’19 to world leaders, the Pakistani PM Imran Khan said he feared a “bloodbath” in Kashmir when the security lockdown in place will be lifted. In his 45-minute address, he highlighted the possibility of a nuclear war between India and Pakistan over IOK if the UN and the international community did not act soon. Through highlighting this possibility, Pakistan asked for the UN’s interference in the matter.

Even after initial appeals, IOK remains one of the oldest unresolved international conflicts on the UN table. Furthermore, with increasing tensions between the United States and Iran, focus from Kashmir has been misplaced.

“Pakistan will stand by the Kashmiri people in their just struggle for the exercise of their UN-pledged right of self-determination to rid themselves of the brutal Indian occupation.”

         -  Pakistani UN Ambassador Munir Akram

At the 71st commemoration anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution, Jan’20, to remind the international community of its commitment, he said that Pakistan’s mission was to work hard towards the implementation of the council’s resolutions on the decades-old Kashmir dispute. He said that we will strive towards upholding the right of self-determination of the Kashmiri people through a free plebiscite.

In his remarks, Ambassador Akram said that for over seven decades, India had violated the Security Council resolutions, denying the people of Jammu and Kashmir to exercise their right of self-determination by occupation and oppression.

Keeping in light PM Imran Khan’s message, he further said that the current situation in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir was the worst in recent history where people have been deprived of their fundamental rights, including right to life, food, health, freedom of expression and assembly, freedom of religion, as well as self-determination.

 

He also told the audience that Indian brutalities have exacerbated the suffering of women and children there, describing this as an unacceptable situation which must be ended.

Reaffirming Pakistan’s intention to raise India’s “illegal” takeover of IOK at all UN fora, Ambassador Akram said, “the right to self-determination is immutable”.

“Kashmir is in our flesh and blood,” he said. “We will continue to struggle until Kashmiris are free and the occupation is brought to end.”

Ambassador Akram eagerly called on the international community to urge India to immediately withdraw the illegal unilateral action to alter the special status of Jammu & Kashmir; release all political leaders; lift curfew and communication blackout; allow access to international media and the UN Fact-Finding Mission to ascertain the reports of grave human rights violations in the valley, end the use of pellet guns against civilians and allow the people their right to peaceful assembly and protest. 

AM