AGL 38.00 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (0.16%)
AIRLINK 197.50 Increased By ▲ 3.59 (1.85%)
BOP 9.56 Increased By ▲ 0.24 (2.58%)
CNERGY 5.96 Increased By ▲ 0.12 (2.05%)
DCL 8.87 Increased By ▲ 0.19 (2.19%)
DFML 35.65 Decreased By ▼ -0.81 (-2.22%)
DGKC 97.50 Increased By ▲ 4.96 (5.36%)
FCCL 35.30 Increased By ▲ 1.33 (3.92%)
FFBL 89.00 Increased By ▲ 6.70 (8.14%)
FFL 13.21 Increased By ▲ 0.46 (3.61%)
HUBC 127.70 Increased By ▲ 7.09 (5.88%)
HUMNL 13.49 Decreased By ▼ -0.11 (-0.81%)
KEL 5.38 Increased By ▲ 0.16 (3.07%)
KOSM 7.00 Increased By ▲ 0.48 (7.36%)
MLCF 45.00 Increased By ▲ 2.89 (6.86%)
NBP 61.90 Increased By ▲ 2.09 (3.49%)
OGDC 215.50 Increased By ▲ 4.33 (2.05%)
PAEL 39.05 Increased By ▲ 1.47 (3.91%)
PIBTL 8.24 Increased By ▲ 0.17 (2.11%)
PPL 192.40 Increased By ▲ 2.08 (1.09%)
PRL 38.57 Increased By ▲ 0.40 (1.05%)
PTC 25.80 Increased By ▲ 2.35 (10.02%)
SEARL 105.98 Increased By ▲ 8.04 (8.21%)
TELE 8.28 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (0.73%)
TOMCL 35.25 Increased By ▲ 0.22 (0.63%)
TPLP 13.40 Decreased By ▼ -0.15 (-1.11%)
TREET 22.29 Decreased By ▼ -0.44 (-1.94%)
TRG 55.99 Increased By ▲ 3.12 (5.9%)
UNITY 33.00 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (0.12%)
WTL 1.62 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (6.58%)
BR100 11,739 Increased By 355.4 (3.12%)
BR30 36,418 Increased By 1206.5 (3.43%)
KSE100 109,513 Increased By 3238.2 (3.05%)
KSE30 34,513 Increased By 1160.1 (3.48%)

UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan on Thursday raised the issue of 'forcible' burial of iconic Kashmiri leader Ali Shah Geelani by the Indian occupation forces at the UN. Pakistan has also called on UN's Decolonization Committee and the Security Council to take action to end India's colonialization of Jammu and Kashmir and enable its people to exercise their right to self-determination.

"Eradicating colonialism is part of the unfinished agenda of the United Nations," Ambassador Munir Akram emphasized in a speech to the General Assembly's Special Political and Decolonization (Fourth) Committee on Wednesday.

After his speech, delegates of India and Pakistan had a verbal duel over the Kashmir dispute. In his remarks, Ambassador Akram said that the Indian occupation of Jammu and Kashmir is the "worst manifestation of modern-day colonialism."

Since 1946, 80 former colonies have gained independence, he pointed out but still the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Palestine are among those who are denied the right to self-determination.

Noting that the Declaration on Decolonization proclaims that 'all people' have the right to self-determination, Ambassador Akram said that in case of Jammu and Kashmir, this right was further sanctified by the UN Security Council resolutions that calls for the final disposition of the state should be decided by its people through a free and fair plebiscite held under UN auspices.

But Kashmir today is the most densely occupied place in the world, with 900,000 Indian troops, deployed in the disputed territory, he said adding that the entire Kashmiri leadership has been imprisoned, thousands of Kashmiri youth, including women and children, detained, protests put down violently, with neighbourhoods and villages destroyed as "collective punishment".

"It (India) has locked down the internet and locked out impartial observers from occupied Kashmir," Ambassador Akram remarked.

The iconic Kashmiri leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani's body was snatched from his family, whisked away and buried hurriedly in a non-descript place, denying his family the right to the prescribed Islamic burial rites. "This is not only a measure of Indian tyranny but also its fear of the free voice of the Kashmiri people," the Pakistani envoy said.

Since its illegal attempt to annex Jammu and Kashmir, he said, India aims to achieve its ominous "final solution" by seeking to change the demographics of the region, providing fake domicile certificates to Hindu outsiders.

"This surely amounts to genocide," he stressed, calling for action by the Security Council that would enable the people of Kashmir to exercise their right to self-determination.

Speaking about UN peacekeeping operations, Ambassador Akram emphasized the need to protect peacekeepers and welcomed the use of modern technology to strengthen camp security, monitor convoy movements and provide troops with telemedicine care.

Over the last six decades, he said, Pakistani peacekeepers have operated effectively in some of the most challenging environments due to high morale, discipline, rich experience and training. Underlining that the UN Secretary-General's A4P (Action for Peacekeeping) initiative stipulates that peacekeeping is most effective when it is supported by an overall political strategy, he said considerable work needs to be done in this context.

The Security Council, Ambassador Akram pointed out, has been unable to develop political solutions to several old and new disputes across the world, including the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, where one of the oldest UN missions, the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), is stationed.

Reacting to Ambassador Akram's tough statement, an Indian delegate repeated allegation about Pakistan's involvement in terrorism, and said that by raising the Kashmir issue, Pakistan had wasted the committee's time. The Indian delegate also claimed that the entire territory of Jammu and Kashmir was, is and will always be an integral part of India.

Comments

Comments are closed.