Report: FT Correspondent:
ISLAMABAD — President Azad Jammu and Kashmir Dr. Muhammad Najeeb Khan met a delegation of Hurriyat leaders led by Convener of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) AJK and Pakistan, Ghulam Muhammad Safi.
Speaker of the AJK Legislative Assembly Chaudhry Tariq Farooq was also present during the meeting.
The meeting discussed the latest situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), Indian measures, alleged human rights violations, and efforts to effectively highlight the Kashmir issue at the international level.
The delegation included Muhammad Farooq Rehmani, Mahmood Ahmed Saghar, General Secretary Advocate Parvez Ahmed Shah, Syed Faiz Naqshbandi, Sheikh Abdul Mateen, Sheikh Muhammad Yaqoob, Chaudhry Shaheen Iqbal and Information Secretary Imtiaz Wani.
President Dr. Muhammad Najeeb Khan said that the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is an internationally recognized dispute and its final settlement is possible only in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people and relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions.
He said the Kashmiri people should be given the right to determine their own future, while appreciating Pakistan’s political, diplomatic and moral support for the Kashmiri people.
The AJK President said that the unilateral measures taken on August 5, 2019, could neither alter the disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir nor deprive the Kashmiri people of their right to self-determination.
He called upon the international community to take serious note of the situation in IIOJK and play an effective role in protecting the fundamental rights of the Kashmiri people.
He said alleged human rights violations by Indian forces, paramilitary personnel and police, arrests of political activists and Hurriyat leaders, restrictions on freedom of expression and other alleged abuses in IIOJK needed to be highlighted at the international level.
Dr. Najeeb Khan also called for unrestricted access for UN human rights bodies and international observers to the occupied territory so that an impartial assessment of the situation on the ground could be carried out.
He said the United Nations should fulfill its responsibility towards the commitments made to the Kashmiri people. He urged the international community to press India to implement the relevant UN resolutions on the Kashmir dispute and provide the Kashmiri people their fundamental right to self-determination.
Convener Ghulam Muhammad Safi and other Hurriyat leaders congratulated Dr. Muhammad Najeeb Khan on his election as President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and expressed their best wishes for his tenure.
Ghulam Muhammad Safi briefed the AJK President on the latest situation in IIOJK and the difficulties faced by Hurriyat leadership and activists. He said the Hurriyat Conference would continue its political and diplomatic efforts to highlight the Kashmir issue internationally and support the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination.
The meeting expressed a resolve that the political leadership of Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, the Hurriyat Conference and other relevant stakeholders would continue joint efforts to effectively highlight the Kashmir issue at the international level and convey the voice of the Kashmiri people to the world.
