On this “Right to Self-Determination Day”, the Government and people of Pakistan stand in unwavering solidarity with the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). We express our solemn commitment to their just struggle to achieve the inalienable right to self-determination.

 This day commemorates the landmark adoption of the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) resolution on 5 January 1949, a pivotal document that formally guaranteed a free and impartial plebiscite for the people of Jammu & Kashmir.

This commitment is enshrined through multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, and is reaffirmed annually by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolutions upholding the right to self-determination.

The international law recognizes the right to self-determination as a cornerstone principle enshrined in the UN Charter. However, the people of IIOJK have been denied this right by India for over seven decades. The illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir by India stands as a stark tragedy of our times as the people of IIOJK continue to endure systematic repression, widespread human rights violations and denial of their fundamental rights and dignity.

In particular, India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019 represent a deliberate attempt to consolidate the illegal occupation through demographic engineering of IIOJK. These measures are designed to systematically transform the Kashmiri people into a disenfranchised community in their own homeland, in clear violation of international law and the principles of self-determination.

Despite enduring decades of oppression and countless sacrifices in IIOJK, the Kashmiri people have remained resolute in their just struggle to achieve the right to self-determination. We salute their unwavering resilience, courage and perseverance.

On this occasion, Pakistan reaffirms extending its moral, political, and diplomatic support to the people of IIOJK until the realization of their inalienable right to self-determination as stipulated in the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Pakistan also calls upon the international community, particularly the United Nations, to honour its long-standing commitment with the Kashmiri people and play its mandated role in ensuring a just and peaceful resolution of the Jammu & Kashmir dispute.