ISLAMABAD: Leaders from across the country on Wednesday categorically rejected the elections to the Legislative Assembly being held in India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, saying that they were no substitute for the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination.

Speaking to a delegation, President Asif Ali Zardari emphasised that such elections were unacceptable to the people of Kashmir and called upon the international community to hold the Modi government accountable for the ongoing human rights violations in the occupied territory.

He further urged the need to take concrete steps toward conducting a plebiscite in line with the United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Meanwhile, AJK PM Chaudhry Anwarul Haq declared: “No one can talk about division of Kashmir in our presence.”

Speaking at an event in Palandri, he said: “Those who are comparing Azad Kashmir with the India-occupied territory of Jammu and Kashmir must bear in mind the fact that the people of occupied Kashmir don’t have the right to offer prayers”.

AJK President Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry also lambasted the Indian government’s efforts to legitimise its control over held-Kashmir through “bogus elections” held under the watchful eye of hundreds of thousands of troops.

He emphasised that these elections lack legitimacy and are merely a desperate attempt to mislead the international community.

He highlighted the deteriorating human rights situation in occupied Kashmir since August 5, 2019, when India abolished the region’s special status by abrogating Article 370 and Article 35-A.

He stressed that this move was a blatant violation of international law, citing UN resolutions that call for a referendum in the region.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2024