India ‘oppressor’, Kashmiris ‘oppressed’; Kashmir can never become part of India: Safi

ISLAMABAD, Aug 05 (APP):All Parties Hurriyat Conference Azad Jammu and Kashmir (APHC-AJK) Convener, Ghulam Muhammad Safi on Wednesday said India was the “oppressor” and Kashmiris were the “oppressed”, declaring that as long as even one Kashmiri remained alive, India could not turn the internationally disputed Jammu and Kashmir into its integral part.

Addressing a gathering held in connection with Youm-e-Istehsal Kashmir in Islamabad, Safi said Kashmiris had rendered immense sacrifices for their right to self-determination and remained steadfast in their struggle despite decades of hardships.

He said Kashmiri leaders, political activists and women were languishing in different Indian jails, while some leaders had been handed life imprisonment and others faced severe sentences merely for refusing to accept Jammu and Kashmir as part of India and demanding their internationally recognized right to self-determination.

Safi said the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) were demanding implementation of the commitment made to them under the relevant United Nations resolutions, allowing them to determine their future through a free and impartial plebiscite.

He alleged that the homes of Kashmiris had been demolished, their businesses taken away and other measures used to suppress their political aspirations.

Safi said India had assumed that Jammu and Kashmir was a remote territory and the world would remain a silent spectator to the situation there.

However, Jammu and Kashmir is not without a supporter, he said, adding that Pakistan had consistently raised the Kashmir dispute before the United Nations, UN Security Council, Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and other international forums.

He said Pakistan had continued to draw the world’s attention to the plight of the Kashmiri people and their demand for the right to self-determination.

Referring to August 5, 2019, Safi strongly rejected India’s unilateral actions, saying New Delhi had attempted to abolish the special status and identity of Jammu and Kashmir and subsequently claimed that the territory had become its integral part.

He maintained that such unilateral measures could not alter the internationally recognized disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir.

India may claim a million times that Jammu and Kashmir has become its part, but as long as even one Kashmiri is alive, Jammu and Kashmir cannot become a part of India, Safi said.

He said Kashmiris had sacrificed countless lives not to accept Indian rule but to secure their right to determine their political future.

Safi said the people of IIOJK had maintained a deep attachment to Pakistan despite what he described as years of repression and attempts to silence pro-Pakistan voices.

He thanked the Government of Pakistan, Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Engineer Amir Muqam and his team for organizing activities to mark Youm-e-Istehsal Kashmir and keeping the Kashmir issue in international focus.

He said Kashmiris and Pakistanis were jointly expressing solidarity on the day through programmes and gatherings in Islamabad, Karachi, Quetta, Lahore, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of the country.

He reiterated that the people of Jammu and Kashmir would continue their struggle until they were granted the right to self-determination in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions.