International Desk: Kashmir dispute is a reality and India cannot deny it or remove it from the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) agenda through its illegal actions.

A report released by Kashmir Media Service, today, said, the self-determination of people is a basic principle of the UN Charter and Article 1 of the Charter protects the right to self-determination as a fundamental principle of International Law. By virtue of this right, the report added, people are entitled to freely determine their political status.

It said, the UN has clearly recognized applicability of the principle of self-determination to Jammu and Kashmir and pointed out that Jammu and Kashmir is a disputed territory and its disputed nature is recognized by the UN and there is no ambiguity about it.

The report said, India’s hegemonic mentality is stopping it from accepting that Kashmir is a disputed territory which can only be settled in accordance with the will of the people through a free and impartial plebiscite. Even Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India, said in 1947 that the fate of Kashmir is to be ultimately decided by the people of Kashmir, it maintained.

The report deplored that India violated all international agreements by abrogating Kashmir-specific Article 370 on 5th Aug 2019. New Delhi cannot change the disputed nature of Kashmir through August 5 like illegal and unilateral actions, it said, adding, fascist Modi, in violation of the UN resolutions on Kashmir, is attempting to obliterate the distinct identity of the occupied territory by altering its demography.

The report said, the people of Kashmiris are facing Indian wrath for demanding UN-mandated plebiscite to decide their political future. It said, plebiscite under the UN resolutions is the only solution to the lingering Kashmir dispute.

The report pointed out that India had been flouting the UN resolutions for over 7 decades now by illegally occupying IIOJK, but at the same time, Pakistan is committed to stand by the Kashmiris in their legitimate struggle for right to self-determination. Pakistan, it said, raised the Kashmir issue three times inside the UN Security Council since 5 August 2019, when India illegally merged the disputed territory with it.

The report said that while India is ignoring the wishes of the people of Kashmir by deviating from the UN resolutions but UN is duty-bound to initiate the process of restoring to the people of Kashmir their inalienable right to self-determination.

Peace will continue to elude South Asia until Kashmir dispute is resolved as per the Kashmiris’ wishes through the UN-sponsored plebiscite, the report said, adding India must be pressurized to peacefully settle the dispute by honouring international commitments in this regard.