Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday said Pakistan was ready to hold peace talks with India provided the latter ended the military siege in Jammu and Kashmir and agreed to a plebiscite in the Valley as per the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.

“To India, I say that we are ready, but you have to end the military siege in Kashmir and give Kashmiris their right to self-determination,” the prime minister said in his special televised video message in connection with Kashmir Black Day.

Imran Khan recalled that even in his maiden address to the nation after assuming office, he had talked about peace with India and extended offer that if India would take one step towards peace, Pakistan would reciprocate with two.

“Pakistan still believes that peace is the only way for the prosperous future of the people of sub-continent, however it cannot ignore India’s ongoing reign of terror in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK),” he said.

In reference to October 27, he said, India 73 years ago landed its occupational forces in Jammu and Kashmir and oppressed the Kashmiris’ right to self-determination.

“The painful saga of Kashmiris for seven decades continued until India added another chapter to their misery on August 5, 2019, with 0.9 million occupational forces putting eight million Kashmiris under siege,” he said.

He mentioned that the “world’s largest open prison” not only confined the local Kashmiris, but also put their leadership behind bars.

“Presently, Kashmiris are living an unfortunate moment of their lives as neither they are citizens of India nor they have been given their right to self-determination as per the UNSC resolutions,” he said.

Imran Khan vowed to highlight the sufferings of Kashmiris at all fora, urging the world to work towards resolution of Kashmir dispute.

In his regular message on Kashmir Black Day observed on October 27 (Tuesday), Prime Minister Imran Khan has once again urged the international community to take practical steps to stop India from using state-terrorism as a tool to destabilize the region and to work for peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and wishes of the Kashmiri people.

He said “The international legitimacy of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is enshrined in the UNSC resolutions, which are binding. It is the collective responsibility of all member states to ensure compliance by India of its international obligations.” 

He said it was the only way durable peace and stability could be ensured in South Asia.
The prime minister condemned Indian illegal occupation and reiterated unwavering support to the Kashmiri people. “For its part, Pakistan will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Kashmiri people and extend all possible support to them until they realize their legitimate right to self-determination,” he added.

Imran Khan said the Kashmir Black Day represented a dark chapter in human history when, 73 years ago, Indian forces had landed in Srinagar to forcibly occupy the territory and subjugate the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

“The illegal occupation of parts of Jammu and Kashmir by India represents an international dispute, the solution of which is firmly anchored in the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions in accordance with the UN Charter,” he further stressed.

The prime minister said despite unabated Indian atrocities for more than seven decades posing an existential threat, India was unable to break the will of the Kashmiri people.

“The international community bears witness that Indian state-terrorism, extra-judicial killing of innocent Kashmiris, unprecedented restrictions in freedom of speech, fake encounters, cordon-and-search operations, custodial torture and deaths, enforced disappearances, incarceration of Kashmiri leadership and youth, use of pellet guns, destruction and burning of houses to inflict ‘collective punishment’ on the Kashmiris communities and other methods of subjugation have failed to shake the resolve of the Kashmiris people in their just struggle for the inalienable right to self-determination,” he said.

He said India’s unilateral actions, military siege and communication blockade accompanied by illegal measures to bring about demographic change in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir since 5th August 2019, exposed yet another dimension of RSS-inspired ‘Hindutva’ ideology.

“The dangerous mix of extremist ideology (Hindutva) and hegemonic designs (Akhand Bharat) is imperilling regional peace and stability,” the prime minister said.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi also asked the international community to pressurize India to reverse its illegal course in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and restore the Kashmiris’ fundamental human rights.

“Through the deployment of additional troops and an unprecedented media and communication blackout, occupied Jammu & Kashmir has been turned into the largest open prison in the world,” the foreign minister said in his message on Kashmir Black Day.

Qureshi said on this day 73 years ago, Indian occupation forces entered Jammu and Kashmir in an attempt to subjugate the Kashmiri people.

“To this day, the brave people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK) have remained steadfast in their resolve to defy India and stand firm in their quest for the right to self-determination,” he said.

On August 5, 2019, India took further illegal and unilateral steps to change the internationally recognized disputed status of IIOJK and alter the demographic structure of the occupied territory.

“Pakistan and the Kashmiris have categorically rejected this blatant travesty of law and justice. For over one year, the scale and impunity of the Indian government’s human rights violations have increased manifold,” he said

He said the world community was calling India out on its tyranny and its façade as one of the world’s so-called largest ‘democracies’ has been undeniably exposed.

“Pakistan calls for the urgent lifting of the military siege and media blackout, immediate stop to the violations of human rights of Kashmiri people, release of Kashmiri leaders and youth, and end to impunity granted to Indian occupation forces under draconian laws,” he said.

Qureshi said, “We express complete solidarity with the people of IIOJK and assure our Kashmiri brothers and sisters that the Government and people of Pakistan remain shoulder-to-shoulder with them.”

“Pakistan will not relent in its support until the Kashmiris realize their legitimate right to self-determination in accordance with the United Nations Security Council resolutions,” he said.