India trying to suppress Kashmiris' right to self-determination, says Asim Iftikhar
Pakistan
'We urge all member states to enhance cooperation to trace and identify missing persons'
NEW YORK (Dunya News) – Pakistan’s Permanent Representatives to the United Nations Asim Iftikhar said Indian wanted to suppress the Kashmiris' struggle for the right to self-determination.
Iftikhar stated this while giving a briefing to the UN Security Council. He said the issue of missing persons is particularly acute in conflict zones and occupied territories from Palestine to occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
“Missing persons are not just numbers. They are fathers who never returned home, mothers separated from their children, young boys who disappeared in the dead of night, and daughters whose fates are sealed in silence. Their absence is a wound that never heals, leaving families trapped in an endless cycle of hope and despair,” he said.
He highlighted that missing persons and enforced disappearances is a grim reality of the nearly 8-decade long Kashmir conflict.
In the Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, unmarked and unknown graves of thousands of victims have surfaced in recent years, the ambassador said.
From the investigations held so far, it has been revealed that these victims are first disappeared by Indian occupation forces and then tortured to death or summarily executed.
He also referred to the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society and said the occupying power continues to be in denial about the thousands of enforced and involuntarily disappeared persons from IIOJ&K and is reluctant to conduct forensic investigations into the 7,000 plus unmarked mass graves.
OHCHR, in its two reports of 2018 and 2019 on Kashmir has recommended to “ensure independent, impartial and credible investigations into all unmarked graves” in IIOJK, he said.
Despite calls for investigations and accountability, the plight of missing persons continues to exacerbate in IIOJK, he lamented.
“After India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019, thousands of young boys were abducted and many still missing. The recent terrorist incident in Jammu and Kashmir was used as a pretext to round up more than 2,000 people with the view to further oppress Kashmiris’ struggling for their legitimate right to self-determination.”
He urged all parties to conflicts to comply strictly with international humanitarian law, protect civilians, and ensure accountability for violations.
“We urge all member states to enhance cooperation, including through mutual legal assistance and data sharing, to trace and identify missing persons. Coordinated international efforts are essential for addressing this challenge,” Ambassador Asim Iftikhar said.
