Honourable Recai Kutan, President ESAM
Respected Temel Karamollaoğlu, President Saadet Party
Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary General, World Kashmir Awareness Forum.
Mr. Ali Yalçin, President of Confederation of Public Servants Trade Union (MemurSen)
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to thank ESAM for organizing this Kashmir Solidarity Day Conference. Saadet Party under the dynamic leadership of H.E Temel Karamollaoğlu and ESAM under the leadership of Honourable Recai Kutan have been playing an important role in highlighting the Jammu and Kashmir dispute for which the people of Pakistan and the Kashmiris remain grateful.
Today we are commemorating Kashmir Solidarity Day with the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
Today is a day when we reaffirm our resolute support for our Kashmiri brothers and sisters, who continue to be subjected to an inhuman military siege and communications blockade since 5 August 2019. The tragedy of the Kashmiris, however, goes back more than 7 decades as they have faced unabated repression and consistent denial of their fundamental rights by India.
This day is a stark reminder of the broken promises and unfulfilled commitments made to the Kashmiri people. Promises made by India to the Kashmiri people for a plebiscite and commitments undertaken by India before the international community, when it had taken the matter first time to the UN in January 1948 and accepted its prescription.
Since then, the Kashmiris have not only been denied their right of self-determination enshrined in several UN Security Council resolutions, but they have also been a victim of human rights violations committed by the Indian occupation forces on a massive scale.
These are not just claims made by Pakistan but these human rights violations are widely known and documented by the international community.
The list is long and disturbing. It includes extra-judicial and summary executions, custodial deaths, use of pellet guns, torture, enforced and involuntary disappearances, arbitrary detention, rape and molestation, collective punishments, denial of the right of freedom of expression and opinion, indiscriminate cordon and search operations, use of force against peaceful protesters, deeply degrading behavior towards the occupied population, and the list goes on.
In order to hide this ugly truth, the Indian regime has done the following:
· Blocked access to several requests of independent international humanitarian observers,
· Placed curbs on communication network, local publications and internet,
· Unleashed a massive global disinformation network using fake NGOs and its own media outlets to target countries and leaders, who speaking against Indian atrocities in IIOJK (and this propaganda machinery targets Turkey as well for the same reason)
And when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world, despite calls to ease up the restrictions, the India authorities also callously exploited the COVID-19 crisis to further advance its unlawful occupation. The coronavirus exacerbated the suffering of the Kashmiris condemning them to the precipice of a vast human tragedy.
At the same time, the Modi regime has extended several federal laws and introduced new domicile rules in the occupied territory. It granted domicile status to thousands of non-Kashmiri Hindus in gross violation of the UN resolutions and the international law.
The basic objective behind all these unilateral illegal measures is to convert IIOJK’s Muslim majority into a minority by settling Indian Hindus in large numbers. It is also aimed at damaging the essence of the UN resolutions on the Kashmir dispute and affect the results in India’s favour if New Delhi is compelled to hold a plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir in the future.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Jammu and Kashmir dispute also presents a serious threat to international peace and security due to a possible escalation of ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC) into a full-fledged conflict or as a consequence of an Indian “false flag” operation. More and more evidence is coming out, how India used the Pulwama episode in February 2019 to bring the two countries on the brink of a war for its petty domestic electoral politics.
As far as Pakistan is concerned, the Government and the people remain steadfast in their adherence to the Security Council resolutions and in our strong political, moral and diplomatic support to the right of the Kashmiri people to self-determination.
Pakistan will continue to highlight the Jammu and Kashmir dispute at all relevant international forums, including the United Nations, and the human rights and humanitarian organizations.
We are also extremely grateful for Turkey’s principled position and continuous support on Jammu & Kashmir Dispute, including from the government, Turkish Parliament, various political parties and the people of Turkey.
The people of Jammu & Kashmir as well as the people and the Government of Pakistan are truly thankful to their Turkish brothers and sisters for their firm and unflinching support for the just resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions and the wishes and aspirations of the Kashmiri people
Today, the international community and various celebrities are taking notice of BJP regime’s brutal actions in response to the farmers protest. However, the Kashmiris in IIOJK have been subjected to vicious state-sanctioned violence and curb in fundamental human rights for years now. It is high time that the international community sees India, for what it truly is.
The international community needs to use all tools at its disposal to:
· hold India accountable for its illegal and unilateral actions and human rights violations against the Kashmiri people,
· pressurize India to adhere to its international human rights obligations, and,
· allow international media, humanitarian organizations and independent observers entry into IIOJK to independently verify reports of abuse, violations and use of excessive force.
Above all, we urge the international community to fulfill its moral and legal obligation by giving Kashmiris the chance to realize their inalienable right to self-determination in accordance with UNSC resolutions.
Thank you
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