President and Prime Minister reaffirm support for Kashmiris’ right to self-determination

The 78th Accession Day of Kashmir (Youm-e-Ilhaq-e-Pakistan) to Pakistan was observed across the country on Sunday to commemorate the historic resolution adopted by the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference on July 19, 1947, calling for the accession of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan.

The day was celebrated across Pakistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and also among the Kashmiri diaspora, who reiterated their stance on the occasion.

Various activities were carried out, including public demonstrations, seminars, conferences and public meetings.

Cities and towns were decorated with flags of Pakistan and Kashmir, while political parties, civil society organizations and student groups organized events to reaffirm their commitment to the 1947 resolution and the implementation of the United Nations resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering support to the people of Jammu and Kashmir on the occasion of Kashmir’s Accession Day to Pakistan and urged the international community and the United Nations to play a more active role in ensuring implementation of UN resolutions.

In separate messages, the country’s top leaders said the day symbolized the historic aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and reiterated Islamabad’s long-standing position on the dispute.

President Zardari said Pakistan had “consistently advocated for a peaceful and just resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and the aspirations of the people of Kashmir.”

“We urge the international community, particularly the United Nations, to fulfill its responsibility by supporting efforts aimed at ensuring the realization of the Kashmiri people’s inalienable right to self-determination,” he said.

Prime Minister Shehbaz said Youm-e-Ilhaq-e-Pakistan commemorates the historic resolution adopted by the Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference during its Srinagar session on July 19, 1947, describing it as a defining moment in the political history of the region.

He said the unanimously adopted resolution “reflects the collective political aspirations of the Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir” and expressed his desire for the state to accede to Pakistan, while calling on the Dogra rulers to respect “the will of the people”.

“The resolution remains an important historical milestone in the political struggle of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” the Prime Minister said.

Prime Minister Shehbaz added that the occasion served as “a reminder of the enduring ties that unite the people of Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir”, founded on “shared history, faith, culture, geography and long-standing ties”.

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“Above all, it underscores the central importance of respecting the freely expressed will of the people of Kashmir,” he said.

Reaffirming Pakistan’s position on the dispute, the prime minister said the country remains “steadfast in its principled support for the inalienable right of self-determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, as enshrined in the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.”

He said the unresolved dispute continued to have “profound implications for regional peace and security.”

“A lasting peace in South Asia requires its peaceful resolution in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and the aspirations of the people of Kashmir,” he said.

Paying tribute to the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), Prime Minister Shehbaz said the government and people of Pakistan “salute the courage, resilience and steadfastness” of the Kashmiris in what he described as their “just struggle for the realization of their fundamental rights”.

He reiterated that Pakistan would continue to extend its “unwavering diplomatic, political and moral support” until the people of Jammu and Kashmir could exercise their “inalienable right to self-determination”.

It was on July 19, 1947 that the genuine representatives of Kashmiris unanimously passed the resolution of accession of Kashmir to Pakistan during a meeting of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference at the residence of Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan in Aabi Guzar area of ​​Srinagar.

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The historic resolution called for the accession of the state of Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan in view of its current religious, geographical, cultural and economic proximity with Pakistan and the aspirations of millions of Kashmiri Muslims.

The event occurred almost a month before the creation of the two sovereign states of Pakistan and India under the Partition Plan of the British Indian colony on August 14 and 15 of the same year.

According to the resolution, around 80 per cent Muslim population, rivers passing through Kashmir, language, culture and the state’s relations with Pakistan were the factors that made accession to Pakistan inevitable.

United Nations Security Council Resolutions Nos. 47, 51, 80, 96, 98, 122 and 126 also declared that the fate of Jammu and Kashmir would be decided according to the wishes of the people of Kashmir through self-determination.

The Indian government had also pledged to the UN to grant the right of self-determination to Kashmiris, but later backtracked. With regard to granting the right to self-determination, the Indian authorities further implemented the revocation of Articles 370 and 35A, which had given special status to Kashmir.