ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmed called on the international community to uphold the right to self-determination for the people of Indian-occupied Kashmir and Palestine, during his address at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.
Addressing the Special Political and Decolonization Committee during the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmed drew global attention to the ongoing plights of peoples living under foreign occupation, particularly in Indian-occupied Kashmir and Palestine.
He described the denial of self-determination to the Kashmiri people as one of the UN’s oldest unresolved issues and urged the global body to implement its own resolutions. “The final status of Jammu and Kashmir must be determined through a free and impartial plebiscite under UN supervision,” Ahmed stressed.
Condemning India’s decades-long actions in the region, the Pakistani envoy accused New Delhi of pursuing a “settler-colonial agenda” aimed at altering Kashmir’s demography. He cited the deployment of 900,000 Indian troops in the region and widespread human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, and collective punishment.
Ahmed also denounced India’s revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional status on August 5, 2019, calling it illegal and in direct violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
He warned that peace in South Asia remains impossible without resolving the Kashmir dispute and praised the resilience of Kashmiris in their struggle for freedom. “Peace cannot be built on injustice and denial of rights,” he asserted.
Turning to the crisis in Gaza, the ambassador condemned Israel’s airstrikes, stating that women and children were being deliberately targeted. “These are not collateral damages, these are blatant violations of international humanitarian law,” he said.
Ahmed described Gaza’s humanitarian catastrophe as a consequence of long-standing occupation, adding that “occupation must end, as it remains the root cause of regional instability.”
He reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering support for a viable and independent State of Palestine, based on pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
Ahmed warned against the continued presence of colonialism in the modern era. “The struggles of Kashmir and Palestine are powerful reminders that freedom denied is freedom diminished,” he said. “The international community cannot allow colonialism in any form to persist in the 21st century.”
