Pakistan Urges UN Backing of Kashmir Self‑Determination on Accession Day

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday renewed its call on the international community, particularly the United Nations, to support efforts to resolve the decades‑old Kashmir dispute in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions as the country marks Kashmir’s Accession to Pakistan Day.

The day commemorates a resolution adopted by the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference on 19 July 1947 in favour of the princely state’s accession to Pakistan before the partition of British India. Pakistan observes it annually to reaffirm its support for the Kashmiri people’s right to self‑determination.

Kashmir, a Himalayan region, has been disputed between India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947. Both nations claim the whole territory, each administering separate parts, and have fought several wars and confrontations over it.

President Asif Ali Zardari said in a message marking the occasion, “Pakistan has consistently advocated a peaceful and just resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.”

“We urge the international community, particularly the United Nations, to fulfil its responsibility by supporting efforts aimed at ensuring the realisation of the Kashmiri people’s inalienable right to self‑determination,” he added. UN Security Council resolutions call for the Kashmiri people to determine their future through a plebiscite. India maintains that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of the country and that the issue is a bilateral matter with Pakistan.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also said in a separate statement that peace in South Asia required a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute in line with the relevant Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. “Pakistan remains steadfast in its principled support for the inalienable right to self‑determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, as enshrined in the relevant UN Security Council resolutions,” he added.

The statements came as Azad Jammu and Kashmir prepares for legislative elections on 27 July, following weeks of unrest that left about 30 people dead and prompted a major security deployment across the region.

The unrest, triggered in part by a dispute over refugee seats in the Legislative Assembly, disrupted campaigning, closed businesses and raised doubts about whether polling could proceed on schedule.

Authorities have said the elections will go ahead as planned, although some opposition groups have questioned whether conditions allow for a free and transparent vote.

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