By Abid Chaudhry
TWA
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President Asif Ali Zardari, on Wednesday, firmly dismissed the elections for the Legislative Assembly in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), stating that these elections cannot replace the Kashmiri people’s legitimate right to self-determination.
During a meeting at the Aiwan-e-Sadr with a delegation of IIOJK migrants, led by Uzair Ahmed Ghazali, who have been living in Pakistan since 1989, President Zardari highlighted that the elections were unacceptable to the Kashmiri people. He urged the international community to hold the Modi government accountable for the ongoing human rights abuses in the occupied region.
He further urged the need to take concrete steps toward conducting a plebiscite in line with relevant the United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Welcoming the delegation, the president condemned the Legislative Assembly elections in the IIOJK, terming them part of India’s broader strategy to consolidate its illegal occupation of the region. He highlighted that such measures could neither legitimize India’s occupation nor suppress the freedom struggle of the Kashmiri people. He stated that India was trying to alter the demographic structure of the IIOJK by turning the Kashmiri Muslims into a minority and transforming them into a disempowered community in their own land.
President Zardari said that Pakistan greatly valued the sacrifices made by the Kashmiri people for their rights and would continue to stand in solidarity with them. He reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to provide moral, political and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people till the realization of their right to self-determination.
The delegation apprised the president about the atrocities being committed by the Modi regime in the IIOJK. It was highlighted that the entire Kashmiri leadership had been imprisoned to suppress the voice of the Kashmiri people. They also apprised the president about the issues of the refugees in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
The president underscored that a protest should be lodged over the illegal steps and atrocities being committed by the Indian occupation forces in the IIOJK. He said that Pakistan was committed to the socio-economic uplift of refugees and resolving their issues. He assured the delegation that the AJK Government would be asked to enhance subsistence allowance as well as provide other relief measures to the Kashmiri refugees. He further assured that Pakistan’s social safety net would be extended to include 8,000 migrant families under the Benazir Income Support Programme.
The delegation commended the efforts and role of Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who strongly advocated the cause of the people of IIOJK at various fora during his tenure as the Foreign Minister of Pakistan. They thanked the president for Pakistan’s continued moral, political and diplomatic support for the Kashmiri people.
