ISLAMABAD, Feb 17 (APP):Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Sardar Masood Khan Monday briefed the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres about the plight of 640,000 people living along the Line of Control (LoC) and invited him to visit Muzaffarabad.
During a meeting with the Secretary General, the president informed him about the condition of 40,000 refugees/Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) living in the refugee camps in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), said a press release.
The President thanked the Secretary General for calling to resolve the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions and for offering his role as a mediator by using his good offices.
President Masood Khan, thanked Antonio Gutteres’ call for de-escalating the situation between India and Pakistan, both militarily and verbally, especially along the Line of Control.
The AJK President particularly conveyed his gratitude to the UN Secretary General for demanding full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms of the people Jammu and Kashmir (IOJK) as being enjoyed by the people in Azad Kashmir.
“Don’t take India’s ‘NO’ for an answer for the use of good offices or diplomacy and dialogue in accordance with the United Nations Charter. This is a collective obligation for all nations. One UN member cannot hold the entire organization hostage by its obduracy”, he said.
Sardar Masood Khan briefed Antonio Guterres about the highly concerning and precarious situation of the civilians living along the LOC in AJK because of India’s frequent and unrelenting hostile fire.
The President proposed to the UN Secretary-General to make the submission of the UNMOGIP reports to the UN Secretary General’s office and their circulation to all members of the UN Security Council mandatory.
“Conversations on Kashmir in the Security Council must go on for the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. Silence at that highest forum is wrong and unfair to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, who are under siege and are being killed and brutalized every day.
The extremist ruling party in India wants the international community to be silent on Kashmir in order to hide its crimes. The UN has spoken up and must continue to speak up for Kashmiris”, he told UN Secretary General.
The AJK President said that the United Nations was the flag bearer of the international order based on the rule of law. The UN Secretary General is seen as an international icon, who should demonstrate leadership to save humanity from the scourge of war and liberate people living under alien dominations and foreign occupation.
In this context, the president thanked the secretary general for holding detailed conversations in the past with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other Indian leaders.
“War would be a devastating aberration for humanity; peace and reconciliation are a historic imperative in the region. This is only possible by ensuring the realization of the right to self-determination of the people of Kashmir”, said the President.
