‘Elections in IIOJ&K not substitute to right of self-determination’

Islamabad:Dr. Syed Nazir Gilani, President, Jammu Kashmir Council for Human Rights (JKCHR) which has a special consultative status with United Nations (UN) has said termed the elections in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K) as local requirement and not a substitute for right of self-determination, says a press release.

Dr. Gilani said that these elections do not override the UN Resolutions on Kashmir. Dr. Gilani is scheduled to meet the diplomats based in Islamabad will engage with officials of Governments of Pakistan and Azad Kashmir in regard to their obligations under UN Resolutions. He would also be meeting with leaders of the opposition and members of civil society in Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Dr Gilani visit assumes significance as the Jammu Kashmir Council for Human Right completes 40 years of its establishment, 32 years of working with the United Nations and 23 years of its Special Consultative Status with UN. The NGO works on the jurisprudence of UN Template on Kashmir and has been lodging continuous and robust challenges to the Indian actions of 5th August 2019, decision of the Supreme Court of India.

Dr. Gilani will be interacting with judiciary and lawyers in Islamabad and Muzaffarabad. He is likely to take up the question of non-compliance of High Court decision regarding establishment of a plebiscite framework in Azad Kashmir with the Chairman AJK Council, the Prime Minister of Pakistan and the Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir. It is pertinent to note that Dr. Syed Nazir Gilani has himself argued the case in this regard from December 1992 to April 1999. Dr. Gilani is likely to engage judiciary on number of constitutional issues.