Islamabad: The Jammu Kashmir Salvation Movement (JKSM) has welcomed the United Nations' continued recognition of Jammu and Kashmir as a disputed and unresolved territory, saying that the world body must now move beyond reiterating its principled position and take clear, practical and result-oriented steps toward the implementation of its own resolutions.
In a statement, JKSM Spokesman Dr. Irfan Ghani said that the United Nations Security Council resolutions provide a clear international framework for the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, under which the people of Kashmir are entitled to determine their political future through a free and impartial plebiscite. He said that if the United Nations continues to recognize Jammu and Kashmir as a disputed territory, it also has a responsibility to ensure that its resolutions do not remain confined to historical records but are translated into meaningful action.
Dr. Irfan Ghani said that the United Nations has already recognized the principle and mechanism of a plebiscite through its resolutions, and the need now is to establish a clear roadmap, effective monitoring arrangements and a workable political mechanism to initiate the process of a free and impartial vote.
He said that the Kashmir dispute has remained unresolved for nearly eight decades, while the Kashmiri people have continued to face political uncertainty, military pressure and violations of their fundamental rights. He added that the prolonged silence of the international community and limited diplomatic response have further aggravated the situation on the ground.
Dr. Irfan Ghani urged the United Nations and major world powers to use their available diplomatic, political and international means to restrain Indian forces from the use of force, cordon-and-search operations, arrests, political pressure and other coercive measures against the Kashmiri people. He said that an environment must be created in which Kashmiris can express their political will without fear, intimidation or pressure.
He said that the human rights situation in Jammu and Kashmir has reached an alarming level. The political, civil and economic rights of the Kashmiri people continue to face restrictions, while freedom of expression, political activity, movement, peaceful assembly and association have also been severely curtailed.
Dr. Irfan Ghani also expressed concern over the prolonged detention of Kashmiri political leaders, activists, youth and other civilians, as well as difficulties relating to legal access, family meetings and medical facilities. He said that independent international monitoring of these issues has become essential.
The JKSM spokesman also expressed serious concern over the attachment, seizure and sealing of properties belonging to Kashmiris. He said that the attachment of residential and commercial properties of political activists, pro-freedom leaders, their families and other civilians has deepened an atmosphere of fear and insecurity. He added that property seizures, house searches, repeated arrests and pressure on families cannot resolve a political dispute and instead further complicate the situation.
Dr. Irfan Ghani further said that the growing pressure on the land, businesses, educational opportunities, employment, political representation and institutional structure of indigenous Kashmiris is equally alarming. He said that through various administrative, legal and security measures, the social, economic and political identity of the local population is being weakened, while the influence of Indian institutions, security agencies and administrative structures has expanded significantly across several important sectors.
He said that Kashmiris increasingly feel that control over their land, economy, education, businesses, employment opportunities, political voice and institutional space is gradually being taken away from them. He warned that depriving an indigenous Kashmiris from their resources, political representation, economic opportunities and social identity can only deepen alienation, resentment and instability in the region.
Dr. Irfan Ghani said that the Kashmir dispute is not merely a territorial issue, but a question concerning the political future, dignity, identity and fundamental rights of millions of people. He said that continued tensions between two nuclear-armed states in South Asia pose a threat not only to the region but also to international peace and security, and therefore the dispute cannot be postponed indefinitely.
He called upon the UN Secretary-General, members of the Security Council and international human rights organisations to take practical steps for independent monitoring of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, ensure the protection of the rights of political prisoners, take serious notice of property attachments and political and economic pressure, and play a more effective diplomatic role in safeguarding the fundamental rights of the Kashmiri people.
Dr. Irfan Ghani said that the genuine representatives of the people of Jammu and Kashmir must be included in any meaningful and sustainable political process. He stressed that any solution concerning the future of Kashmir that excludes the Kashmiri people from the decision-making process can neither be just nor durable.
He said that the credibility of the United Nations demands that it give practical effect to its own resolutions, take meaningful steps toward advancing the plebiscite process and help ensure that the Kashmiri people are granted the right that was promised to them by the international community decades ago.