Pakistan trashes ‘travesty of justice’ by Indian SC over occupied Kashmir

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday categorically rejected the judgment announced by the Supreme Court of India on the status of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), saying that the judicial endorsement of India’s unilateral and illegal actions of August 5, 2019 is a travesty of justice, based on distorted historical and legal arguments.

“The judgment is yet another manifestation of the pliant judiciary under India’s ruling dispensation. International law doesn’t recognise India’s unilateral and illegal actions of August 5, 2019. The judicial endorsement by the Indian Supreme Court has no legal value. Kashmiris have an inalienable right to self-determination in accordance with the relevant UNSC resolutions”, tweeted Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jillani, the first official response from Pakistan a few hours after the Indian SC judgment was announced.

Later, at a media briefing the foreign minister read from a written Foreign Office statement, while retreating that Pakistan will continue to extend its full political, diplomatic and moral support to the people of IIOJK for realisation of their inalienable right to self-determination.

“Pakistan does not acknowledge the supremacy of the Indian Constitution over Jammu and Kashmir. Any process, subservient to the Indian Constitution, carries no legal significance. India cannot abdicate its international obligations on the pretext of domestic legislations and judicial verdicts. Its plans to annex IIOJK are bound to fail, he said.

In August 2019, India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) revoked occupied Kashmir’s special status by repealing Article 370 of the constitution. The law had limited the power of the Indian parliament to impose laws in the state, apart from matters of defence, foreign affairs andcommunications.

Jillani pointed out that Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally-recognised dispute, which remains on the agenda of the UN Security Council for over seven decades. “The final disposition of Jammu and Kashmir is to be made in accordance with the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions and as per aspirations of the Kashmiri people. India has no right to make unilateral decisions on the status of this disputed territory against the will of the Kashmiri people and Pakistan,” said the Foreign Minister.

Pointing out the flaws in the Indian Supreme Court’s verdict, Jillani said it failed to recognise the internationally-recognised disputed nature of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute and it further fails to cater to the aspirations of the Kashmiri people, who have already rejected India’s illegal and unilateral actions of August 5, 2019.

The foreign minister emphasised that restoration of statehood, conduct of State Assembly elections or similar steps cannot serve as a substitute to the grant of the right to self-determination to the Kashmiri people.

“The judgment cannot distract the international community’s attention from the gross and systematic human rights violations being perpetrated in IIOJK.

India’s unilateral and illegal measures since August 5, 2019 have been aimed at changing the demographic structure and political landscape of the IIOJK, in flagrant violation of international law and the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, especially Resolution 122 (1957). They remain a matter of grave concern for Pakistan as their ultimate goal is to convert the Kashmiris into a disempowered community in their own land. These measures must be rescinded to create an environment for peace and dialogue”, he said.

Meanwhile, President Dr Arif Alvi strongly says he was dismayed over the Indian SC’s decision, as the Indian judiciary had succumbed to the fascist Hindutva ideology giving decisions suited to the Indian government.

“Such decisions could not legitimise the occupation of IIOJK by India as the Jammu and Kashmir issue was an internationally recognised dispute that remained on the agenda of the UN Security Council for over seven decades”, he added.

Earlier, India´s top court upheld a move by Prime Minister Narendra Modi´s government to revoke the limited autonomy of Muslim-majority Kashmir, where an insurgency has raged for decades, and ordered elections within a year.

The 2019 declaration was “a culmination of the process of integration and as such is a valid exercise of power”, the Supreme Court said in its verdict.

The move was accompanied by the imposition of direct rule from New Delhi, mass arrests, a total lockdown and communication blackout that ran for months as India bolstered its armed forces in the region to contain protests.

The removal of Article 370 of the constitution, which enshrined the Indian-occupied region´s special status, was challenged by Kashmir´s pro-India political parties, the local Bar Association and individual litigants, culminating in Monday´s verdict.

The court upheld removing the region´s autonomy while calling for Jammu & Kashmir, as the Delhi-administered area is known, to be restored to statehood and put on a par with any other Indian state “at the earliest and as soon as possible”.

The court also ordered state elections to take place by September 30, 2024.Security was stepped up across Indian-occupied Kashmir ahead of the verdict, with authorities deploying hundreds of soldiers, paramilitary troops, and police in the main city of Srinagar to thwart any protests.

Modi welcomed the judgment as “historic”. It was “a beacon of hope, a promise of a brighter future and a testament to our collective resolve to build a stronger, more united India”, the Hindu nationalist leader posted on X, formerly Twitter.

One of the advocates who argued for the revocation to be ruled unconstitutional was sanguine.“Some battles are fought to be lost,” Kapil Sibal posted on X, even before the verdict was read out, saying the court action was intended to ensure that “history must record the uncomfortable facts for generations to know”. “History alone is the final arbiter of the moral compass of historic decisions,” he added.

Meanwhile, PMLN President Shehbaz Sharif and Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz rejected the Indian Supreme Court’s decision. In their statements issued on Monday, Shehbaz Sharif said that the decision of the Indian court on August 5, 2019 has no status, the decision of the Indian Supreme Court was against the resolutions of the United Nations.

He said that the Indian Supreme Court’s verdict will not make the lie of an integral part true, the court acted as an activist on the BJP’s policy, the Supreme Court has already declared open illegality on the Babri Masjid.

Maryam Nawaz termed the Indian Supreme Court’s decision another Indian lie. Maryam Nawaz said that the Kashmiri people, Pakistan and the world reject Indian deception, the Indian Supreme Court has committed a historical crime.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that it has once again been proved that India is grossly violating the international law and norms, as well as the resolutions of the United Nations.

He said the international powers would now need to review their support of India, when the country is repeatedly abusing international laws. “Be it parliament or judiciary of India, they cannot rewrite UN resolutions and international agreements. No matter how many times they reiterate their claim over Kashmir, as far as international law is concerned, Kashmir is a disputed territory and the matter is to be resolved as per the law and resolutions,” he said.

PPP Vice President Sherry Rehman said that regardless of India’s actions, Kashmiris’ inherent right to self-determination stands firm under international law and conventions.

Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan emir Sirajul Haq stated the decision was expected and aligned with the BJP government’s controversial and illegal move to revoke the region’s special status in 2019. He asserted that the Kashmiri people s movement for freedom from Indian occupation would not be deterred by such tactics.

He expressed confidence that the dawn of freedom would eventually rise over Kashmir. He urged the Pakistani government to actively advocate for the Kashmir cause suggesting the appointment of a deputy foreign affairs minister specifically for Kashmir. Additionally he called for hosting an international conference on the Kashmir issue in Muzaffarabad.

President Azad Jammu and Kashmir Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry has said the judgment not only violated the Indian constitution but also the UNSC resolutions that recognise the disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir.