Pakistan rejects Indian court ruling on Kashmir's status, says it cannot be resolved under domestic law

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD (AA) – Pakistan on Saturday rejected the top Indian court's ruling on the status of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, saying the internationally recognized disputed territory cannot be settled under domestic law and requesting intervention from three major international organizations.

Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani has written to the United Nations (UN), the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and the European Union (EU) to draw their attention to the recent Supreme Court of India ruling upholding the Indian government's decision to revoke the special status of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in 2019.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Jilani in his letters called attention to the "illegality" of the recent Indian court ruling on the status of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, and stated that under international law, domestic legislation and judicial verdicts cannot be used to determine the final status of an “internationally recognized disputed territory.”

"The Foreign Minister has condemned the unlawful measures of the Indian authorities to consolidate their occupation of IIOJK (Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir) and persistent suppression of the rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir," it said.

On Monday, the Indian court upheld the legality of legislation that was passed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government in 2019 that stripped the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir region of its standing as a state, as well as its special status.

"India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019, and a series of subsequent steps, are aimed at altering the demographic structure and political landscape of IIOJK. The clear goal of these unlawful steps is to convert Kashmiris into a disempowered community in their own land," the top Pakistani diplomat wrote.

He also called the judgment a breach of international law and relevant UN Security Council resolutions, particularly Resolution 122 (1957).

"This endorsement of India’s unlawful measures cannot over-ride the provisions and prescriptions of the UN Security Council as contained in its resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir," Jilani said, urging the UN Security Council to ensure full implementation of its resolutions on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.

- Disputed region

Kashmir is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.

Since they were partitioned in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- with two of them over Kashmir.

Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence or unification with neighboring Pakistan.

According to several human rights organizations, thousands of people have reportedly been killed in the conflict in the region since 1989.