President, PM reaffirm support for Kashmiris’ right to self-determination | The Express Tribune

The 78th Kashmir Accession Day (Youm-e-Ilhaq-e-Pakistan) to Pakistan was observed across the country on Sunday to commemorate the historic resolution adopted 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 stance on the occasion.

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

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

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering support for 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 messages, the country’s top leadership said the day symbolised the historic aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and reiterated Islamabad’s long-standing position on the dispute.

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

“We urge the international community, particularly the United Nations, to fulfil its responsibility by supporting efforts aimed at ensuring the realisation of the Kashmiri people’s inalienable right to self-determination,” he said.

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

He said the unanimously adopted 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 calling upon 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.

PM Shehbaz added that the occasion served as “a reminder of the enduring bonds that unite the peoples of Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir,” founded on “shared history, faith, culture, geography and longstanding ties.”

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

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

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 United Nations 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), PM Shehbaz said the government and people of Pakistan “salute the courage, resilience and steadfastness” of Kashmiris in what he described as their “just struggle for the realisation 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 July 19, 1947, that the genuine representatives of the Kashmiris unanimously passed the resolution of Kashmir’s accession to Pakistan during a meeting of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference at the residence of Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan in Aabi Guzar area of Srinagar.

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The historic resolution called for the accession of the state of Jammu and Kashmir 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 August 14 and 15, the same year.

As per the resolution, around 80 per cent of the Muslim population, rivers passing through Kashmir, language, culture, and the state’s relations with Pakistan were the factors making accession to Pakistan inevitable.

The UNSC resolutions No. 47, 51, 80, 96, 98,122 and 126 also declared that the fate of Jammu and Kashmir would be decided as per the wishes of the Kashmiri people through self-determination.

The Indian government had also committed before the UN that they would grant the self-determination right to the Kashmiris, but later retracted. With regard to granting the right to self-determination, the Indian authorities further implemented the revocation of Articles 370 and 35A, which had granted special status to Kashmir.