UN credibility at great risk in IoK
THE United Nations was established following World War-II in 1945 to provide international cooperation and resolve world conflicts.
But it has miserably failed to settle the lingering, burning, bleeding unresolved Kashmir dispute between neighbouring nuclear powers of India and Pakistan and its credibility as a world body remains at a great risk for more than seven decades.
The UN has failed miserably to ensure implementation of resolutions of its Security Council calling for free, fair and transparent plebiscite in India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir to let the Kashmiris exercise their fundamental right of self-determination for which they are struggling and suffering at the hands of occupying Indian security forces while Indian Government of Prime Minister Narenda Modi continues to belittle and flout all international laws.
Unmindful of its obligations to international laws ad regulations, India continues to pursue its own evil and devilish agenda, had revoked special status of its occupied Jammu and Kashmir on 05 August 2019, merging it illegally still with the Indian Union, enhanced the strength of its occupying security forces giving them free hand to crush and kill Kashmiris at will and placed the entire population of the occupied territory under complete lockdown also from the same date which continues unabatedly even after more than 20 months.
Furthermore, to continue pursuing Hindutva policy of RSS the Modi-led Indian government is also taking measures to turn Muslims majority into minority by resorting to genocide and settling down Hindus there by issuing down fake and unlawful migration certificates.
India is bound under the international laws not to change the demography of IIOJK in an unchecked and unstopping manner.
The UN as well as the international community at large is looking the other way and not going beyond condemnation of gross human rights violations and continue to refrain from pressurising Indian government in any manner to stop changing dynamics of population of the occupied territory.
There are many important dates in the history of Kashmir on which the Kashmiris in IIOJK as well as in Pakistan and the world over observe Martyrs Days and Black Days to pay tributes to their freedom fighters who had lost their lives over the last more than seven decades in indigenous, unarmed struggle for securing their fundamental right of self-determination, free themselves from Indian occupation and decide their future themselves which has persistently been denied to them by India belittling the international laws and bluntly denying implementation of UN Security Council resolutions.
21 May is another such Martyrdom Day which the Kashmiris everywhere observe to commemorate martyrdom of Mir Waiz Farooq Shaheed and Abdul Ghani Lone Shaheed on this date by the Indian security forces in 1990 and 2002 respectively.
Observance of the Kashmiris Martyrs Day on 21 May is yet another occasion to remind the UN and international community of their obligations to ensure implementation of Security Council resolutions, pressurizing India to its longest complete lockdown in occupied Jammu ad Kashmir and ending flagrant violations of human rights.
Pakistan has all along been extending political, diplomatic and moral support to the Kashmiris in their just, indigenous and unarmed struggle for freedom from Indian occupation and exercising their birth right of self-determination.
On all martyrs days and black days which the Kashmiris observe, the civil and military leadership of Pakistan as well as the people all over the country reiterate their continued support to the Kashmiris and exerting upon the United Nations and its Security Council to honour its own resolutions and get these implemented by India at the earliest possible.
At the initiatives of Prime Minister Imran Khan, who had been raising the Kashmir issue not only at the UN General Assembly but also all other international forums, the Kashmir issue has been activated during the last couple of years pulling it out of the cold storage of the world body where it was lying for more than past five decades.
Civil and military leadership of Pakistan has been urging the international community every now and then to honour their obligations towards the Kashmiris, force Indian government to reverse 05 August 2019 revocation decision and restore the special status of occupied Jammu and Kashmir and play their active role in ending the ongoing bloodshed, violence and killing of innocent Kashmiris at the hands of Indian security forces and let the Kashmiris exercise their self-determination right in UN supervised plebiscite in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions.
Besides the international community, world body is also time and again being reminded at the appropriate highest level of Pakistan that Kashmir issue is a nuclear flashpoint, without its resolution durable peace and stability in the region remains in danger and if the UN fails to act at the earliest possible in resolving the Kashmir issue peacefully its own credibility will continue to be at great risks and stake.
No words are strong enough to condemn ongoing lingering brutalities and oppression of Indian occupying security forces in IIOJK, to deplore the lingering indifferent attitude of the international community towards bleeding Jammu and Kashmir being more interested in its trade and economic relations with big country of India and also to continue availing every opportunity to remind the world body to wake up out of its deep slumber, realize its hitherto persistently ignored obligations towards oppressed and suppressed Kashmiris and force India to stop ongoing killings in the occupied territory and implement Security Council resolutions to which both India and Pakistan are signatories and save its credibility which otherwise will continue to be at risks in the face of denial of all international laws by India.
—The writer is Lahore-based Freelance Journalist, Columnist and retired Deputy Controller (News), Radio Pakistan, Islamabad.
