Message from Dr. Arif Alvi, President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan  on the occasion of Right to Self-Determination Day i.e. 5th Jan 2023

Today, Kashmiris around the world are observing the 74th anniversary of the
Resolution adopted by the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan
(UNCIP), providing that the Jammu and Kashmir dispute would be decided
through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite under the UN
auspices. In essence, it was a reaffirmation of the inalienable right of Kashmiris to
self-determination which is enshrined in international law and upheld by
international human rights instruments.

Regrettably, the oppressed people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and
Kashmir (IIOJK) have not been able to exercise this right. India continues to
oppress the Kashmiris to break their will with massive human rights abuses. Since
5 August 2019, it is engaged in a vicious exercise of altering the demographic
structure of IIOJK to turn Kashmiris into a minority in their own land.

The UN General Assembly annually adopts a resolution on “Universal
Realization of the Right of the People to Self-Determination” that draws
international attention towards the plight and rights of people living under
situations of forced occupation.

The international community, especially the United Nations, bears the
responsibility to ensure the fulfillment of this promise and support the people of
IIOJK in exercising their inalienable right to self-determination.

For its part, Pakistan will continue to extend its full political, diplomatic and
moral support to the valiant Kashmiri people in their just struggle for dignity and
rights including their inalienable right to self-determination, in accordance with the
relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.

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Messase from Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif. on the Occasion of Right to Self-Determination Day (5th January 2023) 

The fifth of January is annually observed as the Right to Self-Determination Day for the people of Jammu and Kashmir. On this day in 1949, the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) adopted a resolution that guarantees a free and fair plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir, to enable the Kashmiri people to realize their right to self-determination.

The right to self-determination is a cardinal principle of international law and upheld
by international human rights organizations. Every year, the UN General Assembly
adopts a resolution that denotes the legal right of people to decide their own destiny.
It expresses unequivocal support for the realization of the right to self-determination
for peoples under foreign occupation. Regrettably, the oppressed people of Indian
Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) have not been able to exercise this
right.

Not only has the Indian Government denied the inalienable right of self-determination to the Kashmiris, it has created an environment of fear in IIOJK, which has been exacerbated with India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 20 19. The people of IIOJK are being subjected to systematic and widespread human rights abuses.

Today’s commemoration is aimed at reminding the global community of its responsibility towards the oppressed Kashmiri people. The United Nations must honor the commitments it had made 74 years ago and support the Kashmiris’ struggle for self-determination.

Pakistan will continue to extend its unstinted moral, political and diplomatic support to the right of self-determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

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Message from Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, on the Occasion of Right to Self-Determination Day (5th January 2023)

On 5th of January every year, we renew our support for the right of self-determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

On this day in 1949, the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) unanimously adopted a resolution espousing the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people through a free and impartial plebiscite under
the auspices of the United Nations.

The right to self-determination is a cardinal principle of international law that is upheld by international human rights instruments. For decades, it has been reaffirmed by UN General Assembly in its annual resolution on self-determination.

This day reminds the international community, especially the United Nations, of
the imperative of honoring its commitment towards the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

The last 75 years of India’s occupation of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) are a sad story of repression of the Kashmiri people. India has unleashed a reign of terror in IIOJK, and denied the oppressed Kashmiris the right to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination and lead a life of dignity. Following its illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019, India is engineering demographic and political changes in IIOJK to convert Kashmiris into a disempowered minority in their own land.

It is time for the international community, especially the United Nations, to live up to their promises and take measures enabling the people of Jammu and Kashmir to exercise the right of self-determination as enshrined in UNSC resolutions. It must also call for an immediate cessation of human rights abuses and a reversal of measures by lndia to change the demographic structure of IIOJK.

Pakistan remains determined to play its role to support the right of self-determination of Kashmiris through a free and impartial plebiscite in accordance with the United Nations Security Council resolutions. Our strong and steadfast moral, political and diplomatic support for the Kashmiri people will continue till the realization of this inalienable right.

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