Islamabad Staff Reporter
All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Convener Ghulam Muhammad Safi has strongly rejected the recent joint statement by the foreign ministers of India and Afghanistan regarding Jammu and Kashmir, declaring it a misrepresentation of the internationally recognized disputed status of the region.
In a statement issued here, Safi said that the remarks made during the joint press conference were in direct contradiction to UN Security Council resolutions, which clearly recognize Kashmir as an unresolved international dispute and advocate for a free and impartial plebiscite as the only solution, allowing the people of Jammu and Kashmir to decide their own future.
He condemned India’s repeated claim that Kashmir is an “integral part” of the country, calling it a violation of historical facts, international law, and the democratic will of the Kashmiri people.
Expressing deep disappointment over the Afghan Foreign Minister’s endorsement of India’s position, Safi said it was “extremely disheartening” to hear such support from a fellow Muslim country that itself has suffered from foreign intervention and prolonged conflict. He urged Afghanistan to stand in solidarity with the Kashmiri people on the basis of justice and moral principles.
Safi reiterated that the Kashmiri freedom struggle is not an extremist movement or a territorial dispute, but a legitimate, peaceful, and principled struggle for self-determination, as recognized by the United Nations. He stated that India has maintained a forced occupation of Jammu and Kashmir since 1947, which has never been accepted by the people of the region.
He further accused India of committing widespread human rights violations over the past seven decades, including the killing of hundreds of thousands of Kashmiris, enforced disappearances, and imprisonment in notorious Indian jails.
Highlighting recent developments, Safi said India is now trying to alter the region’s demographic structure by settling non-native citizens in Kashmir — a move that violates international human rights laws and the Fourth Geneva Convention.
He appealed to the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and the international community to take urgent notice of India’s illegal occupation, human rights abuses, and demographic engineering in Kashmir, and to play an effective and practical role in ensuring the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination.
Safi reaffirmed the commitment of the Kashmiri people to continue their peaceful and just struggle until their internationally recognized right to self-determination is achieved.