ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday said he had approached United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres and was also reaching out to other global leaders over India’s “illegal” actions in Kashmir.
“I have approached UN secretary general and am reaching out to other world leaders. India must be stopped from this unacceptable path that further usurps the legal and internationally guaranteed rights of the Kashmiri people and seriously imperils peace and security in South Asia,” the premier wrote on Twitter.
In separate posts, Khan said India’s actions violate international law.
“First India’s attempt at illegal annexation of IOJK (India-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir) and now its attempts to alter IOJK’s demographic structure including by issuance of domicile certificates to 25,000 Indian nationals are all illegal,” he said, adding that New Delhi’s moves are against UN Security Council resolutions and Geneva Conventions.
In August last year, India annulled Article 370 of the country’s constitution, which had guaranteed Kashmir’s special autonomous status and granted locals exclusive land and job rights.
In April, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced a new set of laws giving domicile rights to non-Kashmiri Indians.
Reports indicate that more than 33,000 residence applications have been received and 25,000 of those have been accepted since mid-May.
On Saturday, Pakistan called for international intervention to stop India from granting residency to outsiders in Kashmir.
“The certificates issued to non-Kashmiris including, among others, the Indian government officials under Jammu and Kashmir Grant of Domicile Certificate (Procedure) 2020 are illegal, void and in complete violation of the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions and international law,” Pakistan’s Foreign Office said in a statement.
It added that the move to change the region’s demographic structure would “turn Kashmiris into a minority in their own land” as the Indian government intends to “undermine the exercise by the Kashmiri people of their right to self-determination through a free and impartial plebiscite under the auspices of the United Nations.”
