Jammu and Kashmir map, Photo by w:user:Planemad via Wikimedia Commons
India has been quietly working on changing demographics of the occupied Jammu and Kashmir territory, settling retired army personnel and setting up exclusive localities for pundits in the area, which has been pledged by the UN a plebiscite under Security Council resolutions.
Alarmed at the development, Pakistan this week took the matter to the United Nations with Islamabad’s top Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj addressing a letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Gutteres to protest the ongoing demographic transformation.
The letter points out that with the changes, New Delhi plans to convert the Muslim majority in Indian occupied Kashmir into a minority.
Aziz hopes that the protest would receive the UN Chief’s urgent attention as also of the Security Council and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The letter was delivered to the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, at UN Headquarters in New York by Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UN, Maleeha Lodhi, as the UN chief is on a visit to China.
Specifically laying out the changes, the letter points out the issuance of permanent residence certificates to non-residents, allotment of land to retired Indian army personnel, issuance of land to non-Kashmiris, the establishment of separate townships for Kashmiri pundits and settlement of West Pakistan refugees in Indian occupied Kashmir, in violation of UN resolutions.
“The non-implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions is leading to a grave human tragedy in Indian Occupied Kashmir,” The letter said.
“It is the obligation of the United Nations to implement the Security Council resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir and fulfill the promises made with the Kashmiri people 70 years ago.
“This will not only end the immense sufferings of the millions of people of Jammu and Kashmir, but will also bring peace and stability in South Asia.”
At the United Nations, while meeting with Under-Secretary-General Feltman, Ambassador Lodhi also pointed to the shutdown of the Internet and social media facilities in Indian occupied Kashmir and the continued crackdown by Indian security forces against civilians protesting oppression in the disputed state.
South Asia watchers see a serious threat to the region’s security and stabililty in the face of Indian provocations and the continued Indian oppression of the local Muslim population.
