APPAC urges to resolve Kashmir dispute through UN resolutions
Kashmiris run for cover as Indian security forces (not pictured) fire teargas shells during clashes, after scrapping of the special constitutional status for Kashmir by the Indian government, in Srinagar, September 6, 2019. REUTERS
A prominent political group of Pakistani-American activists has urged the United States government to push for the implementation of the United Nations' resolutions that grant the Kashmiri people the right to decide their future through a UN-sponsored plebiscite.
The American Pakistani Public Affairs Committee (APPAC), in a resolution, also called on the Biden administration and the US Congress to form a bipartisan committee of congressional representatives to investigate the human rights violations in the disputed state and take steps to end the suffering of the people of Indian illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK).
Headed by Dr Ijaz Ahmad, the aim of the New York-based APPAC is to elevate the status of Pakistani-Americans, promote better relations between the US and Pakistan by encouraging their full participation in the political system, and to work for interfaith harmony.
The resolution was also signed by Dr Mahmood Alam, Professor Faizan Haq, Dr Tanveer Mir, Dr Faisal Shah and Attorney Aisha U-Kiu.
According to the resolution, the annexation of Jammu & Kashmir by Indian Prime Minister Modi’s right wing extremist regime on August 5, 2019, was a violation of the UN Security Council resolutions, undermined the world peace and created civil unrest in the region.
The resolution also urged the US, as a permanent member of the UNSC, to use its influence with the Indian government to demilitarise the disputed state and to end the collective punishment of the Kashmiri people, including rape, civilian crackdowns, closures of schools and healthcare facilities, and internet blackouts.