President, Prime Minister reaffirm support for Kashmiris’ right to self-determination

The 78th Accession Day of Kashmir (Youm-e-Ilhaq-e-Pakistan) to Pakistan was observed across the country on Sunday to commemorate the historic resolution passed by the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference on July 19, 1947, calling for the accession of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan.

The day was observed across Pakistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and also among the Kashmiri diaspora, who reiterated their stand on the occasion.

Various activities were held, including public rallies, seminars, conferences and public gatherings.

The towns and cities were decorated with Pakistani and Kashmiri flags, while political parties, civil society organizations and student groups organized events reaffirming their commitment to the 1947 resolution and the implementation of UN resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering support to the people of Jammu and Kashmir on the occasion of Kashmir’s Accession to Pakistan Day and urged the international community and the United Nations to play a more active role in ensuring the implementation of UN resolutions.

In separate statements, the country’s top leadership said the day symbolized the historic aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and reiterated Islamabad’s longstanding position on the dispute.

President Zardari said Pakistan had “consistently advocated for a peaceful and just resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.”

“We urge the international community, particularly the United Nations, to live up to its responsibility by supporting efforts to ensure the realization of the Kashmiri people’s inalienable right to self-determination,” he said.

said Prime Minister Shehbaz Youm-e-Ilhaq-e-Pakistan recalls the historic resolution passed by the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference during its Srinagar session on 19 July 1947 and describes it as a defining moment in the political history of the region.

He said the unanimously passed resolution “reflected the collective political aspirations of the Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir” and expressed their desire for the state’s accession to Pakistan, while urging the Dogra rulers to respect “the will of the people”.

“The resolution remains an important historical milestone in the political struggle of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” the Prime Minister said.

Prime Minister Shehbaz added that the occasion served as “a reminder of the enduring ties that unite the peoples of Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir,” based on “shared history, faith, culture, geography and long-standing ties.”

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“Above all, it underlines the central importance of respecting the freely expressed will of the Kashmiri people,” he said.

Confirming Pakistan’s position on the dispute, the prime minister said the country remained “firm in its principled support for the inalienable right to self-determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir as enshrined in the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.”

He said the unresolved dispute continued to have “profound implications for regional peace and security.”

“Lasting peace in South Asia requires its peaceful resolution in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people,” he said.

Paying tribute to the people of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), Prime Minister Shehbaz said the government and people of Pakistan “pay tribute to the courage, resilience and steadfastness of Kashmiris in what he described as their “just struggle for the realization of their fundamental rights.”

He reiterated that Pakistan would continue to extend its “unwavering diplomatic, political and moral support” until the people of Jammu and Kashmir were able to exercise their “inalienable right to self-determination.”

It was on 19 July 1947 that the genuine representatives of the Kashmiris unanimously passed the resolution for the accession of Kashmir to Pakistan during a meeting of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference at the residence of Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan in the Aabi Guzar area of ​​Srinagar.

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The historic resolution called for the state of Jammu and Kashmir to accede to Pakistan in view of its existing religious, geographical, cultural and economic proximity to Pakistan and the aspirations of millions of Kashmiri Muslims.

The development had come almost a month before the creation of the two sovereign states of Pakistan and India under the partition plan of the British Indian colony on 14 and 15 August of the same year.

According to the resolution, about 80 percent Muslim population, rivers passing through Kashmir, language, culture and the state’s relationship with Pakistan were the factors that made accession to Pakistan inevitable.

UN Security Council Resolutions Nos. 47, 51, 80, 96, 98,122 and 126 also declared that the fate of Jammu and Kashmir would be decided by the wishes of the Kashmiri people through self-determination.

The Indian government had also committed to the UN that they would give Kashmiris the right to self-determination, but later withdrew. In terms of granting the right to self-determination, the Indian authorities further carried out the revocation of Article 370 and 35A, which had given Kashmir a special status.