MESSAGE FROM DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND FOREIGN MINISTER OF ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN, SENATOR MOHAMMAD ISHAQ DAR, ON RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION DAY (5 JANUARY 2025)

Every year, on fifth of January, we reaffirm our support for the right to self-determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. On this day in 1949, the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) unanimously adopted a resolution espousing the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people through a free and impartial plebiscite under the auspices of the United Nations.

The right to self-determination is a basic right, upheld by international human rights instruments. Grant of fundamental rights and freedoms cannot be guaranteed in the absence of right to self-determination. For decades, this inalienable right has been reaffirmed by UN General Assembly in its annual resolution on self-determination. However, the last 77 years of India's occupation of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) are a sad story of repression.

Today's commemoration is aimed at reminding the international community of its responsibility towards the oppressed Kashmiri people. The United Nations must honor the commitments it had made 76 years ago and support the Kashmiri people's struggle for self-determination.

India is trying to consolidate its occupation of IIOJK through a series of administrative, judicial and legislative measures. It is making ceaseless efforts to subjugate the Kashmiris through a variety of coercive measures. It continues to deny them their inalienable right to self-determination and lead a life of dignity. It has created an environment of fear and intimidation in IIOJK.

Pakistan remains determined to play its role to support the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people through a free and impartial plebiscite in accordance with the United Nations Security Council resolutions. Our strong and steadfast moral, political and diplomatic support for the Kashmiri people will continue till the realization of this inalienable right.

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