ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has expressed fears that the Modi administration is planning to restore the statehood of Jammu, while maintaining the union territory status for occupied Kashmir.
He remarked while addressing a rally taken in connection with Youm-e-Istehsal — the sixth anniversary of New Delhi abrogating the semi-autonomous status of India Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) — from the Foreign Office to D-Chowk in Islamabad on Tuesday.
“On August 5, 2019, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh were declared as union territory but now it’s being said that Jammu will be given a statehood,” Dar said while referring to the Indian media reports. The deputy prime minister said the decision in this regard maybe announced in the next few hours or days. Under the rumoured move, he said occupied Kashmir will remain a union territory. “This is all condemnable, unacceptable and provocative.”
Dar said that Pakistan will not accept the attempt to make occupied Kashmir like other Indian states and change the demographic ratio there.
Indian media reports claim that Indian president’s back-to-back meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah fuelled speculations that the government in New Delhi may start the process of restoring the occupied region’s statehood. The development came as the Indian Supreme Court will hear an application seeking directions to the central government to restore the statehood of the IIOJK on Friday (August 8).
Addressing the rally on Tuesday, Dar urged India to revoke all illegal actions taken on August 5, 2019, end its oppressive measures in IIOJK, and lift the media blackout in the region.
He underscored that Kashmir is an internationally recognised dispute, and its future cannot be determined through internal legislation or court rulings.
The foreign minister also reiterated that Pakistan believes in peaceful coexistence, but its commitment to peace should not be mistaken for weakness. He affirmed Islamabad’s desire for friendly relations with all neighbouring countries and its preference for dialogue and diplomacy over confrontation.
Dar warned that Pakistan’s armed forces and its people are fully capable of delivering a resolute response to any act of aggression — as demonstrated during Maa’rka-e-Haq, the name given by the Pakistan Army to the period of conflict with India from the April 22 Pahalgam attack to the May 10 conclusion of Operation Bunyanum Marsoos.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s top civil and military leadership strongly condemned India’s illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir. They reaffirmed their unwavering solidarity with the IIOJK people.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a special message, said that the just resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute was a key pillar of Pakistan’s foreign policy and urged the international community to play a role to halt Indian human rights crimes in IIOJK and reverse its unilateral and illegal actions of 5 August 2019.
The prime minister also called for the global community’s role in urging India to repeal the draconian laws and implement the UN Security Council resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir.
“On this Youm-e-Istehsal, the Government of Pakistan and I reaffirm the unwavering solidarity of the Pakistani people with our Kashmiri sisters and brothers. We reiterate our strongest condemnation of India’s illegal and unilateral actions taken since 5 August 2019 to alter the demographic structure and political landscape of IIOJK, in complete defiance of international law, norms and principles, as well as the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council,” the prime minister remarked.
Calling Youm-e-Istehsal a sobering reminder of India’s rejection of peace and stability and its investment in brutality and unilateralism, he said that the continued denial of the basic human rights, dignity and identity of Kashmiris living under India’s illegal and unconscionable occupation was a recipe for regional instability. He said that India’s occupation could not be sustained by any normal means, and it has thus doubled down on a nearly eight-decade regime of state terrorism and oppression.
“The imprisonment of Kashmiri leaders and activists, including Shabbir Ahmed Shah, Muhammad Yasin Malik and Masarrat Alam Bhatt, will never dim the resolve of our Kashmiri sisters and brothers. The continued defiance of Kashmiris in an environment of unending intimidation across the illegal Indian occupation is more proof of the indomitable courage of the Kashmiri people,” Shehbaz added.
In his message on ‘Youm-e-Istehsal’, President Asif Ali Zardari said the day underscores the need for a settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, per the relevant UNSC resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people, for a lasting peace in South Asia amid the resounding success of the ‘Operation Bunyanum Marsoos’ which is a matter of great pride for the people of Pakistan.
The president said, “Today, the sixth anniversary of India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019 in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir is being somberly observed. That day, India scrapped the special status of IIOJK and bifurcated it into two so-called ‘Union Territories’ to alter its internationally recognised disputed status and undermine the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people.”
President Zardari said the Indian authorities had taken several steps aimed at changing the IIOJK’s demographic structure and political landscape during the last six years. These measures, he added, include gerrymandering of the electoral constituencies, allowing the addition of non-Kashmiris to electoral rolls, issuance of domicile certificates to outsiders, granting more powers to the lieutenant governor in administrative matters, and introduction of new laws on ownership of land and property.
In their messages to the nation on the occasion, Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir along with the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Chief of Naval Staff and Chief of Air Staff said that the country’s armed forces fully support the legitimate and ongoing struggle of the Kashmiri people for their inalienable right to self-determination, as enshrined in international law and UN Security Council resolutions.
“The continued illegal occupation of IIOJK by Indian security forces — characterised by an unrelenting military siege, systemic human rights violations, and demographic engineering — constitutes a grave breach of international norms and remains a matter of deep concern,” the statement released by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
“India’s repressive actions, coupled with its belligerent posture and incendiary rhetoric, serve only to exacerbate regional instability and perpetuate human suffering.”
It is unequivocally evident that durable peace in South Asia remains unattainable without the just and peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, following the aspirations of the Kashmiri people and relevant UN resolutions, said the statement.
The Pakistan Armed Forces pay solemn tribute to the martyrs of IIOJK and reiterate their enduring commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Kashmiri people in their just and rightful struggle for freedom, it added.
Meanwhile, the National Assembly reiterated that Pakistan will never compromise on the right of the Kashmiri people to self-determination, as guaranteed under international law and United Nations resolutions. The House unanimously passed two identical resolutions—one moved in Urdu language by Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Engineer Amir Muqam, and the other in English language by PPP legislator Shazia Marri.
Through the resolution, the National Assembly strongly condemned India’s illegal, unilateral, and morally indefensible actions of August 5, 2019, which aimed to alter the internationally recognised status of Jammu and Kashmir, in violation of international law and United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.
It declared that no unilateral action by India can change the disputed nature of Jammu and Kashmir, which remains on the agenda of the United Nations; affirmed that the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is not an internal matter of India but a global issue requiring a just resolution in accordance with UNSC resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people; called upon the international community to stand for justice, not silence, in the face of Indian oppression and human rights abuses in the IIOJK; reiterated that Pakistan will never compromise on the right of the Kashmiri people to self-determination; affirmed Pakistan’s moral, political and diplomatic support for the Kashmiri people as unshakable and enduring; acknowledged that Kashmir is the unfinished agenda of the partition of the Indian subcontinent and pledged to continue raising the Kashmir issue at every regional and international forum; condemned all forms of Indian state violence and coercive tactics aimed at erasing the identity, culture, and political aspirations of the Kashmiri people—tactics that have failed and will continue to fail; observed August 5 as a Black Day, marking the beginning of an illegal siege, gross human rights violations, and denial of fundamental freedoms in the IIOJK; rejected India’s attempts at demographic engineering and political persecution, which violate the Geneva Conventions and international norms; demanded that India be held accountable for systematic human rights abuses in the IIOJK, including arbitrary detentions, torture, media blackouts and collective punishment; declared that silencing the voices of Kashmiris through force, censorship and occupation is tyranny—not peace; asserted that peace and stability in South Asia are impossible without a just and final resolution of the Kashmir dispute. .
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar reaffirmed Pakistan’s diplomatic, political, and moral support to Kashmiris for their inalienable right to self-determination.
Taking the floor, he said that India, through its oppressive tactics, cannot suppress the indigenous freedom movement of the Kashmiri people. He also paid rich tribute to Shaheed Burhan Wani, late Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, and others for their sacrifices against Indian tyranny.
Former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said, “Today marks Kashmir Exploitation Day. On the issue of Kashmir, we are united—one voice, one resolve.”
He said that India has attempted to alter the constitutional status of occupied Kashmir, and its intentions have been exposed before the world. “Kashmir is now an international dispute, and peace in the region cannot be achieved without resolving this issue,” he said.
“This is the party that gave this country its Constitution. Today, we must tread carefully. This is not a time for emotional outbursts, but for wisdom and restraint. We must engage in dialogue with caution and mutual respect. Only then can we uphold the sanctity of this House and strengthen democracy,” he said.
Minister for National Health Services Syed Mustafa Kamal also condemned the brutalities committed in the IIOJK and emphasised that the entire Pakistani nation is united when it comes to the Kashmir issue.
Youm-e-Istehsal-e-Kashmir was observed on Tuesday to express support for the Kashmiri people’s right to freedom and protest against India’s illegal and unilateral action of August 5, 2019. It was on this day in 2019 that India unilaterally and illegally stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its special status, the action which has since then been rejected by the international community, Kashmiris, and Pakistanis alike.
Special walks and events were held across all the four provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, and other parts of the world as Pakistani missions abroad also organised special events in connection with Youm-e-Istehsal. One minute silence was observed at 10:00 in the morning. Media outlets broadcast special programmes to highlight the sacrifices of Kashmiri people, contributions of the leaders of Kashmir freedom movement and harsh realities of Indian oppression.
