ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the top Indian diplomat in the country on Tuesday to register its protest as the government and people of Pakistan observed the “Kashmir Black Day” that marks the arrival of Indian forces in the disputed Himalayan region to establish New Delhi’s sovereignty over the territory.
According to an official statement, the foreign office emphasized that the Indian government should give the people of Kashmir right to self-determination in accordance with the relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.
The foreign office maintained that India should rescind its “illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019,” lift the “military siege,” and reverse “measures to change the demographic structure of the occupied territory.”
In a message to the world community, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan noted that “despite unabated Indian atrocities for more than seven decades posing an existential threat, India is unable to break the will of the Kashmiri people.”
“The international legitimacy of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is enshrined in the UNSC resolutions, which are binding,” he said. “It is the collective responsibility of all [UN] member states to ensure compliance by India of its international obligations.”
The foreign office also pointed out that India should remove all restrictions on the media, internet and mobile communications on its side of Kashmir to enable an accurate assessment of the humanitarian situation in the region.
Reflecting on recent developments in the region, President Arif Alvi said: “This support and solidarity will continue until the Kashmiris achieve their legitimate right to self-determination as enshrined in the international law, United Nations Charter and the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions.”
