Kashmiri People’s Right to Self-Determination Day Observed in Lahore

By Dr Ansab Ali
Lahore, Pakistan
LAHORE: The Kashmiri people’s Right to Self-Determination Day was observed at an event organised under the auspices of the Kashmir Center Lahore, with speakers urging the international community to uphold United Nations resolutions guaranteeing the Kashmiri people the right to decide their political future.
The gathering aimed to remind the world of what participants described as the Kashmiri people’s fundamental and inalienable right to self-determination, as recognised by the United Nations. A wide range of political leaders, lawyers, religious scholars, activists and intellectuals addressed the event.
Among the speakers were former Member of the Legislative Assembly Maulana Shafi Josh, Senior Vice President of the PML-N Lawyers Wing Manzoor Hussain Gilani, Incharge Kashmir Center Inam ul Hassan, senior All Parties Hurriyat Conference leader Engineer Mushtaq Mahmood, PTI Azad Kashmir Central Joint Secretary Mirza Sadiq Jarral, and Secretary Kashmir Action Committee Farooq Azad, along with several other prominent figures.
The speakers said the Kashmiri people had been making sacrifices for their right to self-determination for more than eight decades. They recalled that on January 5, 1949, the United Nations passed a resolution recognising the Kashmiri demand for self-determination, which India accepted at the time with a commitment to hold a plebiscite. However, they said, the promised plebiscite was never held and India instead tightened its control over what Pakistan describes as Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
They alleged widespread human rights violations by Indian forces in the region, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and attempts to alter the demographic composition, calling these actions violations of international law and the UN Charter. The speakers called on the international community to fulfill its responsibilities by ensuring the implementation of UN resolutions and pressuring India to halt alleged abuses.
Participants expressed concern over what they termed the prolonged silence of the international community, despite decades of sacrifices by the Kashmiri people. They demanded that the United Nations ensure the holding of a plebiscite in accordance with its resolutions.
Several speakers also praised the Pakistan Army, claiming it had demonstrated military strength and superiority during what they referred to as Operation Bunyan-un-Marsoos, and paid tribute to the armed forces under the leadership of Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir.
The event concluded with special prayers for the martyrs of Kashmir, the early liberation of the disputed region, and the success of the Kashmiri people’s struggle for self-determination.