For over seven decades, the people of Jammu and Kashmir have endured repression under Indian occupation while persistently demanding their UN-recognised right to self-determination. The events of October 27, 1947, when India unlawfully landed its troops in Kashmir, marked the beginning of an occupation and a continuing violation of international law and the UN Charter.
India’s claim of accession based on the so-called Instrument of Accession was never validated through a transparent or democratic process. It remains disputed in fact and law, as the document was allegedly signed under duress and never ratified by the Kashmiri people or the UN. The ensuing decades have been marked by military occupation, demographic manipulation and systematic denial of freedoms, yet the resilience of the Kashmiri people continues.
Even Jawaharlal Nehru repeatedly affirmed in 1947-48 that the people of Kashmir must decide their future through a plebiscite – a commitment enshrined in UN Security Council Resolution 47 (1948) and reaffirmed in later resolutions. Despite early pledges before the international community, India gradually reversed its position. From the 1950s onward, it embarked on a campaign to unilaterally integrate Occupied Kashmir, culminating in the revocation of Articles 370 and 35A of its constitution in August 2019. This action abrogated the region’s limited autonomy and opened the door for demographic engineering and land confiscation by non-Kashmiris – clear violations of international humanitarian law and Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
India’s post-2019 actions have been condemned by UN human rights mechanisms, including OHCHR reports of 2018 and 2019, which documented grave violations such as extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions, torture, sexual violence and restrictions on freedom of expression and religion. The use of pellet guns on civilians, mass blinding of protesters and prolonged communication blackouts stand as irrefutable evidence of state terrorism and collective punishment – amounting to crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
The Kashmiri freedom struggle is rooted in international law, not rebellion. The right to self-determination is a jus cogens norm, a peremptory principle from which no derogation is permitted. It is affirmed in Article 1(2) of the UN Charter, Common Article 1 of the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR and ICESCR), and UN General Assembly Resolution 1514 (XV) on decolonization. These instruments affirm that no territorial acquisition resulting from the denial of self-determination is legitimate.
India maintains one of the largest military deployments in the world in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, with over 900,000 troops stationed to suppress the local population. Laws such as the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) and the Public Safety Act (PSA) grant sweeping powers of arrest and use of lethal force without accountability, violating the right to life and liberty under the ICCPR and entrenching institutionalised impunity. Human rights organisations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have documented torture, enforced disappearances, sexual violence and mass graves. The Indian judiciary, despite constitutional guarantees, has largely failed to provide redress, deferring to the state’s claim of ‘national security’.
Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir remains anchored in international legality and moral responsibility. Since 1948, Pakistan has maintained that the dispute must be resolved through a UN-supervised plebiscite. The constitution of Pakistan obliges the state to support oppressed peoples in their just causes and to promote peaceful settlement of international disputes. Through sustained diplomatic engagement at the UN, OIC, Human Rights Council and international media, Pakistan has consistently exposed Indian atrocities and reaffirmed the inalienable rights of the Kashmiri people.
The Kashmir dispute cannot be resolved through unilateral actions or military repression. The only lawful way forward is the full implementation of the UNSC esolutions mandating a free and impartial plebiscite under UN supervision. The international community must move beyond rhetorical concern and enforce international law. Silence or indifference amounts to complicity in perpetuating occupation and human rights abuses.
India’s constitutional changes cannot extinguish the international character of the dispute. As the world observes Kashmir Black Day today, it must remember that India’s occupation is a continuing international wrong and a moral stain on global conscience. Implementation of UN resolutions and restoration of Kashmir’s right to self-determination remain the only just and lawful path to lasting peace in South Asia.
The writer is a practising advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan with 25 years of legal standing. He can be reached at: [email protected]
