Special Political and Decolonization

Special Political and Decolonization (4th) Committee 22 October 2007 Statement by Pakistan in Right of Reply to India Delivered by Sahibzada Ahmed Raza Qasuri

Thank you, Mr. Chairman,

During the meeting on 15 October 2007, the delegate of India made untenable assertions regarding the dispute over Jammu & Kashmir, in response to Pakistan’s general statement on the item on decolonization.

  1. The Decolonization Declaration states that all peoples have the right to self-determination. It also declares that the subjection of peoples to alien subjugation, domination and exploitation constitutes a denial of fundamental rights, is contrary to the Charter of the United Nations and is an impediment to the promotion of world peace and cooperation. In this context, the denial of self-determination to the people of Jammu and Kashmir for sixty years, and their suppression, are most relevant to our discussion.
  2. Second, Jammu & Kashmir is not "an integral part" of India, nor has it ever been. The Security Council and the UN, in several resolutions, have recognized Jammu & Kashmir as disputed territory and provided that “the final disposition of the State of Jammu and Kashmir will be made in accordance with the will of the people expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite conducted under the auspices of the United Nations”. These UN resolutions were accepted by both India and Pakistan and are binding on both. They remain to be implemented.
  3. Third, in a situation of foreign occupation, no electoral exercise can be considered as constituting an exercise of the right to self-determination. It cannot substitute a free and impartial plebiscite. That is precisely why the Security Council in its resolution 91 of 30 March 1951 denied the authority of the Constituent Assembly formed by India in occupied Kashmir, to decide the future of the State of Jammu & Kashmir, and reminded the parties in the same resolution that the final disposition of the State is to be made in accordance with the will of the people of Kashmir. Resolution 122 of 24 January 1957 in reaffirmation of resolution 91 (1951) declared that the convening of a Constituent Assembly and any action taken by it would not constitute disposition of the State in accordance with the will of the people of Kashmir expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite conducted under the auspices of the United Nations. So much for the factual correctness claimed by India.
  4. Four, Pakistan does not need advice, certainly not from India, either on self-determination or on democracy. We shall refrain from commenting on India’s “democratic credentials,” which are, at best, highly tarnished. Suffice it to say that in a democracy, all citizens are willing part of a State. The Kashmiri people are not. They are alienated and subjugated, through systematic and serious violations of human rights, as established by impartial organizations.
  5. Finally, although the Jammu & Kashmir dispute is an international issue, it has been agreed to address this bilaterally through the Composite Dialogue. Pakistan has advanced several constructive ideas to resolve it. We await substantive progress towards such resolution.
  6. Pakistan reserves the right to refer to this issue at the UN as necessary.