No peace in South Asia until Kashmiris exercise right to self-determination: Munir Akram

UITED NATIONS, Jan 05 (APP): Pakistan has urged the world community to take steps to end the foreign occupation and “brutal suppression” of the people in Kashmir and in Palestine, saying self-determination is their fundamental right. In a message marking the ‘Right to Self-Determination Day’, Ambassador Munir Akram said, “It is the suppression of this Right which leads to conflicts and disputes, and egregious violations of human rights, as in Kashmir and Palestine.

“The international community has a direct and principal responsibility to end the foreign occupation and brutal suppression of the people of Jammu and Kashmir by India and Palestine by Israel,” the Pakistani envoy added. Despite the India’s persistent refusal to honour the UN resolutions and grant Kashmiris their fundamental right to determine their future, he said, the people of occupied Jammu and Kashmir have valiantly resisted the Indian occupation and continue their heroic struggle for self determination and liberation.

“Durable peace in South Asia cannot be established until the Kashmiri people are enabled to exercise their right to self-determination in accordance with the provisions of the resolutions of the Security Council,” Ambassador Akram said. “Today,”, he said, “we renew our pledge to maintain our steadfast diplomatic, moral and political support to the just and legitimate freedom struggle of the Kashmiri people.”