UNITED NATIONS, Pakistan firmly rejected India’s claim that Jammu and Kashmir is its “integral part,” and reiterated its call for a UN-led plebiscite to allow the Kashmiri people to determine their own future, as outlined in UN Security Council resolutions.
“Jammu and Kashmir is not, never has been, and will never be an ‘integral’ part of India,” Pakistan delegate Ansar Shah asserted at the General Assembly’s Special Political and Decolonization (Fourth) Committee on Tuesday. Shah emphasized that the region’s disputed status is recognized by both the UN and the international community.
This statement came in response to an Indian delegate’s accusation that PaKistan was misinterpreting the principle of self-determination, which, according to the Indian side, does not justify violating a member state’s territorial integrity. The Indian delegate, Eldos Mathew Punnoose, had been reacting to remarks made earlier by Pk’s UN Ambassador Munir Akram, who condemned India’s occupation of Jammu and Kashmir as “modern-day colonialism.” Akram called for a peaceful resolution to the dispute in line with the UNSC resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people.
Shah reminded the UN that India is legally obligated, under Article 25 of the UN Charter, to implement the Security Council’s resolutions and allow Kashmiris to exercise their right to self-determination. He stressed that India’s hold on Kashmir is maintained through brute force, with pro-freedom Hurriyat leaders either imprisoned or dying in custody under suspicious circumstances.
Instead of seeking a peaceful solution, Shah noted, India has adopted an aggressive stance toward Pakistan, including threats to seize Azad Jammu and Kashmir. He warned that Islamabad would respond decisively to any such Indian actions.
Furthermore, Shah accused India of being the “mother of terrorism” in South Asia, using terror tactics against its neighbors as part of a hegemonic agenda. He claimed that Indian agents had been involved in at least 22 targeted assassinations in Pk, and that India’s terrorist activities have expanded globally, citing one assassination in Canada and another attempted in the United States.
Referring to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent threat that “New India comes into your home to kill you,” Shah pointed out that Canada recently expelled top Indian diplomats for their involvement in such criminal activities.
“This ‘New India’ is a dangerous entity,” Shah warned, urging the global community to oppose Hindutva fascism, end India’s impunity, protect its minorities from genocide, and free the Kashmiri people from Indian colonialism. He concluded by stressing that India’s state-sponsored terrorism remains a serious threat to regional and global peace.
