ISLAMABAD: Senior Advocate Supreme Court Mohammad Akram Sheikh on Wednesday suggested to the government to seek a vote at the upcoming session of UN General Assembly on getting the Kashmir case referred to International Court of Justice (ICJ) in its advisery capacity.

In a statement, Akram Sheikh explained that Pakistan should adopt a multi-pronged approach to the benefit of oppressed Kashmiri people, as the world was responsive to the Kashmir plight after Narendra Modi’s unilateral action in Kashmir.

In February this year, ICJ gave a landmark judgment in which it was held, that the process of decolonization of Mauritius in 1965 was not properly done and the agreement between the United Kingdom and Mauritius for the Chagos Archipelago did not consider the will of people of Chagos as per the UN Charter.

Says government should keep pressing issue of human rights violations at UNHRC

The dispute spanning over 50 years was adjudicated by ICJ, after UN Secretary-General referred the issue to it as a consequence of the UN General Assembly adopting a resolution to this effect (Resolution number 71/292) on June 22, 2017.

Akram Sheikh said he firmly believed that Pakistan should immediately launch a diplomatic offensive to press for Kashmiri’s right of self-determination and move a resolution in UN General Assembly seeking reference to ICJ in its advisory jurisdiction.

Given the global awareness at present on Kashmir issue, it will be easy to get this resolution adopted with a simple majority, he said, adding at the same time, Pakistan government should keep on pressing the issue of human rights violations at United Nations Human Rights Commission, which has already issued two reports on Kashmiri human rights violations by India and is likely to take a tough stance against India during its ongoing session in Geneva.

He said he was very much convinced that Prime Minister Imran Khan in his expected address to the General Assembly of UN would strongly emphasise that the dispute of Jammu and Kashmir be referred to ICJ for its opinion.

“In my humble opinion, Pakistan should move the resolution before the General Assembly and it would not be very difficult for Pakistan to get 51 per cent votes to getting the resolution passed to refer the Kashmir issue to ICJ in its advisory jurisdiction,” he observed.

He explained that ICJ was empowered to take all appropriate measures to speed up the proceedings, if urgency was shown by the General Assembly.

Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2019