Kashmir’s illegal annexation: Maleeha delivers another blistering attack on India at UN

UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan's UN Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi has unleashed yet another blistering attack on India for it's "brutal" suppression of the Kashmiri people, and said that the world body's decolonisation agenda would remain incomplete without a settlement of the Kashmir dispute based on Security Council resolutions that pledged to them the right of self-determination.

"Negation of the right to self-determination, generates anger and discontent, ignites conflicts and threatens peace and security," she warned in a speech to the General Assembly's Special Political and Decolonisation (Fourth) Committee.

It was Ambassador Lodhi’s third statement on Kashmir at the UN this week as she pressed on with her campaign to expose Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir. "It is deplorable that rather than comply with UN resolutions and ensure that the people of the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir exercise their right to self-determination, India has subjected them to brutal suppression for decades," she said.

To make matters worse, the Pakistani envoy said, India illegally annexed Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, turning it into the world’s largest prison, as thousands of additional troops were moved into the disputed state, already the world’s most militarised zone. "There are scores of chilling reports about widespread torture and arbitrary arrests; of thousands including young children being abducted from their homes in night raids, without any trace; of food supplies running out, of hospitals running short of critical supplies and being turned into graveyard; of children left to die for lack of medical attention."

Resolution of the Kashmir dispute is an integral part of decolonisation, the Pakistani envoy said, emphasizing that it is time to stop the pervading sense of cynicism born out of perceived selectivity and bias in the work of the United Nations.

Ambassador Lodhi went on to stress that unilateral actions in gross violation of Security Council resolutions threaten the rules based international order and erode the credibility and legitimacy of the United Nations. "Among the oldest issues on the UN agenda, the Kashmir dispute serves as an ignominious face to a cruel occupation that has already lasted a lifetime."

Going forward, she pledged Pakistan will remain the voice of Kashmiris in all international forums especially the UN until justice is done and they are able to exercise their right to self-determination.