Pakistan has urged the United Nations and the Security Council to urgently act 'decisively' on conducting 'free and impartial plebiscite' under the auspices of the world body as agreed to by India and Pakistan and decided by the Council 70 years ago. The call was made through a letter sent to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and President of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Vassily A Nebenzia by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
The letter, addressed to both the UN secretary general and the president of the UNSC, outlining Pakistan's legal case on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is also attached with a detailed fact-sheet which reproduces all relevant documents including the UN Security Council resolutions, bilateral agreements, relevant letters to the UN in a sequential manner, laying out the international legality and Pakistan's legal case on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
"Peace and stability in South Asia will remain elusive without the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, which is long delayed due to Indian intransigence. The people of Jammu and Kashmir await the 'free and impartial plebiscite conducted under the auspices of the United Nations' as agreed to by India and Pakistan and decided by the Security Council, 70 years ago. Pakistan calls on the Security Council, urgently to act decisively to this end," the letter read.
The letter, along with a detailed fact-sheet and comprehensive annexures, highlights the illegal, unilateral and coercive Indian actions of August 5, 2019, which aim at bringing about a demographic change in the Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IOJ&K), to change the Muslim majority of the state to a minority, with a view to preempt the UN administered plebiscite envisaged under the numerous UN Security Council resolutions to ascertain the wishes of the Kashmiris to join Pakistan or India.
He emphasized that not only were the Indian actions in stark violations of its international commitments, but they also contravened the numerous bilateral commitments, including the Simla Agreement, Lahore Declaration (1999), Islamabad Declaration (2004), Joint Statement of the national security advisers & foreign secretaries of both countries (December 2015) and Pakistan-India Joint Statement (December 2015), which clearly accepted the disputed status of the IOJ&K and reaffirmed the commitment of peaceful resolution of the same.
Qureshi pointed out that Jammu and Kashmir remained an internationally recognized disputed territory. Between 1948 and 1971, the Security Council adopted 18 resolutions, addressing Jammu and Kashmir and related issues, he added. "These resolutions envisage that 'the final disposition of the State of Jammu and Kashmir will be made in accordance with the will of the people expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite conducted under the auspices of the United Nations and clearly stress that any action taken or attempted by a constituent assembly to determine the future shape and affiliation of the entire State or any part thereof, or any action by the parties, "would not constitute a disposition of the State," the letter further read.
He further stated that the recent Indian actions to abrogate the special status of the IOJ&K, partitioning it into two territories, to diminish their legislative competence, and to create conditions that will result in fundamental demographic changes in the territories, are thus in clear violation of the UNSC resolutions.
"In line with the Prime Minister's commitment to the Kashmiris, the foreign minister's letter is part of Pakistan's ongoing diplomatic efforts to sensitize the international community to the plight of innocent Kashmiris, incarcerated for more than seven weeks now and bearing the brunt of Indian atrocities for the last seven decades," said Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal.
He said Qureshi's letter not only built on Pakistan's efforts to sensitize the international community about the continuing Indian atrocities in IOJ&K, but also presented Pakistan's comprehensive position on the Jammu & Kashmir dispute, including the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, bilateral agreements and relevant letters to the UN in a sequential manner, laying out the international law and Pakistan's legal case on Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
He said Indian aggression and hegemonic actions in IOJ&K were a threat to regional peace and stability and held hostage peace and development on South Asia.
"Pakistan will continue to extend political, moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri struggle for the realization of the legitimate right of self-determination, enshrined in numerous UN Security Council Resolutions for an expedited resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, pending resolution for more than seven decades due to Indian intransigence," he added.