Pakistan tells UNHRC Kashmir remains internationally recognized disputed territory

• First Secretary Adeel Mumtaz Khokhar stresses right to self-determination for IIOJK, rejecting India’s claims

• Condemns India’s curbs on freedoms, detentions, and religious restrictions in IIOJK

• Highlights cross-border terrorism by India, including Kulbhushan Jadhav case

• Criticizes India’s unilateral suspension of IWT, saying treaty obligations can’t be switched on and off at will

• Urges India to comply with international law and uphold moral responsibilities

GENEVA: Pakistan on Wednesday told the United Nations Human Rights Council that Jammu and Kashmir remains an internationally recognized disputed territory, as affirmed in relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, and stressed that no unilateral action could alter this legal reality.

“Let me reiterate a simple and undeniable fact: Jammu and Kashmir remains an internationally recognized disputed territory, as reflected in relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions. This is not a narrative. This is a legal reality that no unilateral action can erase,” Pakistan’s First Secretary Adeel Mumtaz Khokhar said while exercising the right of reply at the UN Human Rights Council.

Rejecting India’s claims, he said Pakistan had raised a fundamental issue: under the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (VDPA), any denial of the right to self-determination constitutes a violation of human rights.

“India, as a member of the international community and a State that arrogantly projects itself as a Vishwa Guru, is obliged to create an enabling environment for the exercise of the right to self-determination by the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. It is thus not surprising that Pakistan’s reminder of India’s obligations under the UN Charter has rattled this rogue State, leading to name-calling and baseless attacks against my country,” Khokhar added.

He highlighted that in IIOJK, India’s brutal measures have led to the systematic curtailment of fundamental freedoms: mainstream Kashmiri leaders remain detained, peaceful assembly is suppressed, and religious freedoms are restricted, including severe limitations on Friday prayers and Eid gatherings.

“Let us be clear: a State that fears prayers, fears its people,” he remarked.

Khokhar also pointed to India’s involvement in cross-border terrorist activities, citing the capture of serving Indian naval officer Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was found perpetrating terrorist acts on Pakistani soil, as evidence of such operations.

He maintained that India’s illegal campaign extends beyond its immediate neighbors, reaching North America and Europe.

“The killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada and the ongoing trial of Mr. Nikhil Gupta in the United States—an Indian agent acting at the behest of the Indian government—highlight a disturbing pattern of the current Indian government employing terrorism as a tool of state policy,” he said.

Khokhar further criticized India’s unilateral announcement to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, despite the Treaty containing no provision allowing such action.

“Water cannot be weaponized. Treaty obligations cannot be switched on and off at will,” he stressed.

He concluded that Pakistan’s reminders to India were merely legal and moral obligations, urging New Delhi to comply with international law.

“If that reminder has unsettled it, the answer lies not in deflection, but in compliance with international law. We urge India to course correct,” Khokhar said.