Pakistan writes to UN, OIC, EU against Indian SC’s ‘illegal’ Kashmir ruling

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani on Saturday addressed letters to the leadership of the United Nations, Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the European Union, inviting their attention to the illegality of the recent judgment by the Supreme Court of India on the status of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K).

He called on the UN Security Council to ensure full implementation of its resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir dispute and to urge India to end the grave and systematic human rights violations in IIOJ&K and reverse all its illegal and unilateral actions in IIOJ&K undertaken since 5th August, 2019.

“In these letters, the foreign minister has underscored that under international law, domestic legislation and judicial verdicts cannot be invoked to determine the final status of an internationally-recognized disputed territory,” said the Foreign Office.

So far, the Chinese Foreign Ministry reacted to recent judgment by the Indian Supreme Court, saying this was a bilateral issue between Pakistan and India and should be solved through the UN resolutions. Kashmir was also raised on Friday but this time by the military leadership when COAS General Asim Munir called on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York.

Gen Munir stated that peace in South Asia would remain unattainable until the resolution aligns with the UNSC resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmir people. He also condemned illegal Indian efforts to change the status of Jammu and Kashmir as it was a violation of the UNSC resolutions.

Meanwhile, the foreign minister in his communication has condemned the unlawful measures of the Indian authorities to consolidate their occupation of IIOJ&K and persistent suppression of the rights of people of Jammu and Kashmir. “India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5th August, 2019 and a series of subsequent steps, are aimed at altering the demographic structure and political landscape of IIOJ&K. The clear goal of these unlawful steps is to convert Kashmiris into a disempowered community in their own land,” underlined Jilani.

The foreign minister also termed the recent judgment of the Supreme Court of India, a breach of international law and relevant UN Security Council resolutions, especially Resolution 122(1957). “This endorsement of India’s unlawful measures cannot over-ride the provisions and prescriptions of the UN Security Council as contained in its resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir,” he noted.