Pakistan rejects illegal grant of IOJ&K domicile certificates to Indians
Pakistan rejects illegal grant of IOJ&K domicile certificates to Indians
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Pakistan has categorically rejected the grant of domicile certificates of Indian occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IOJ&K) by the Indian authorities to reportedly 25,000 Indian nationals, the Foreign Office said on Saturday.
In a statement released by the Foreign Office of Pakistan, it said 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 including the 4th Geneva Convention.
It said India’s latest action is a vindication of Pakistan’s consistent stance that the major intention behind the Indian Government’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019 was to change the demographic structure of IOJ&K and turn Kashmiris into a minority in their own land. This has long been part of the RSS-BJP’s “Hindutva” agenda.
The FO called on the United Nations and the international community to intervene and stop India from changing the demographic structure of IOJ&K by settling people from India in a territory that it has illegally occupied and the status of which remains disputed. India must be urged to immediately cancel all the domicile certificates of IOJ&K issued illegally, revoke unlawful rules aimed at further disempowering and disenfranchising the Kashmiris by effecting a demographic change, and comply with its international legal obligations through implementation of the relevant UNSC Resolutions.
The statement further said that the recipients of the domicile certificates must know that India has no legal authority to bring in and settle people from outside IOJ&K. The international law bars India from such illegal actions.
