MUZAFFARABAD: Dr. Syed Nazir Gilani, a distinguished Kashmiri jurist and the head of the Jammu and Kashmir Council for Human Rights (JKCHR), strongly condemned India’s unilateral revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status on August 5, 2019.
During a press conference in Muzaffarabad, Dr. Gilani described the move as a grave violation of international law and urged Pakistan to bring the issue to international forums for stronger advocacy.
Dr. Gilani emphasized that the nature of Jammu and Kashmir’s accession to India had fundamentally changed when India took the matter to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in 1948, agreeing to a plebiscite under UN supervision. He argued that India had no legal or moral authority to unilaterally alter the status of the disputed region.
Quoting UNSC Resolution 91 of 1951, Dr. Gilani stressed that India’s claim of constitutional finality over Jammu and Kashmir was nullified by binding international commitments. He criticized the Indian judiciary for treating the Kashmir dispute purely as an internal matter, disregarding the international framework established by the UN Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP).
Dr. Gilani also revealed that the JKCHR had formally submitted a document on this issue to the UN Secretary General, which was subsequently published as a UN General Assembly document on June 9, 2021, further strengthening the legal case against India’s actions.
He urged Pakistan, as a principal party in the Kashmir dispute, to take stronger action on the international stage to safeguard the Kashmiris’ right to self-determination.
Dr. Gilani pointed out that the current international geopolitical climate and public opinion are more favorable to Pakistan, especially as India’s actions in occupied Kashmir have generated global sympathy for the Kashmir cause.
Dr. Gilani also highlighted the historical context of India’s actions, noting that until 1959, Indian citizens required a permit to enter occupied Kashmir, emphasizing its distinct political and constitutional status at the time. This status, he argued, was systematically eroded by India through judicial manipulation and military aggression.
Dr. Gilani further criticized India’s ongoing human rights violations in the occupied region, including the continued detention of thousands of political prisoners such as Syed Shabbir Shah, Yasin Malik, Zafar Akbar Butt, and Aasiya Andrabi, among many others. He stressed that these are not just political issues but a humanitarian crisis that needs to be addressed urgently on the global stage.
“The suffering of the Kashmiri people is a call for action,” Dr. Gilani said, urging Pakistan to lead the charge in seeking justice for the people of Kashmir.
