Lahore, Pakistan
“The world powers do not have the right, nor the slightest moral authority, to pronounce what should be the solution of the Kashmir dispute in the sense of the final disposition of the territories involved. They have a compelling duty to deliberate upon and recommend how a just solution can be achieved. The people of Kashmir have made it abundantly clear to India, Pakistan and the World community that no solution contrary to the wishes and aspirations of the people of Jammu & Kashmir shall be imposed upon them. Rather, their wishes and aspirations as to be determined in accordance with the principles of self-determination as enshrined in the United Nations Security Council resolutions that were accepted by the world community,” this was stated by Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Chairman, World Forum for Pece Justice during the ‘International Roundtable Conference’ entitled, ‘Quest for a Just Global Order’ held on November 24, 2025 and organized by Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan at Pearl Continental Hotel, Lahore, Pakistan. The Roundtable Conference was presided over by Asif Luqman Qazi, Director Foreign Affairs Department of Jamaat-e-Islami and was attended by more than 160 delegates from 42 countries and representing six continents of the world.
In his opening remarks, Hafiz Naeem Ur Rehman, Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan said that “The world seems indifferent to the the occupation of Kashmir. One million Indian soldiers violate the basic human rights of the Kashmiris on an almost daily basis, yet there is not enough tears in the world for these Kashmiris under oppression. The movement for the freedom of Kashmir and the right for self determination for Kashmiris must be taken to the global level. The Plebiscite must take place in Kashmir, as spelled out in the UN Security Council resolutions.
The Lahore declaration adopted during International RoundTable Conference clearly states that, “The Kashmir issue has the sanctity of the international law under 16 substantive United Nations Security Council resolutions which gives them the right to decide their future under the supervision of the United Nations. And that “the right of self-determination that was given to Palestinians and Kashmiris more than seven decades ago remains unimplemented and the denial of this right has brought both the Middle East and the region of South Asia to the brink of potential nuclear catastrophe. Both conflicts need to be resolved for the sake of international peace and security.
Dr. Fai explained the role and responsibility of the leadership of the Kashmiri political freedom movement. He noted that in the history of self-determination movements, it is strikingly clear that people cannot become free unless they learn to master themselves. In other words, those struggling for the realization of their society’s collective and inalienable human rights must focus on the needs of the people. Second, by doing so, they understand that while every struggle contains seeds of dissension, it is only from the alliance of the one, working with and through others, are great things born. Leadership, more succinctly, is precisely that. After all, leaders must be cognizant of the needs of those they are responsible for, fulfill that responsibility without recourse to personal well-being and harness diversity into unity. In addition, what matters is not who obtains public credit for success, but that success is achieved.
Fai said that it is true that UN Security Council resolutions were adopted more than seven decades ago. However, despite the passage of decades, nothing has been irretrievably lost. The principle that the disposition of the territory in dispute must be in accordance with the
will of its people can still be implemented as truly as it would have been in 1950. Recognizing the existence of several different ethnicities, each with its own history and its affiliations, and the right of each to determine its future without constraint not only from India or Pakistan but also from one dominant region within the State on another, we are not likely to commit the fallacy of one-size-suits-all. The plan of action that would ensure for all components of the State as it existed on 15 August 1947 equal representation and equal freedom to decide whether to continue the status quo or to opt for a new dispensation is not difficult to work out. It can be done by a joint committee composed of the rightly qualified people from India and Pakistan who would consult Kashmiri representatives and also, as necessary, experts from the United Nations.
“What is visualized here is not a charade to be enacted by the respective foreign offices and the pretense of a so-called peace process, which merely means the bureaucratization of the dispute. What is desperately needed is an affirmation by the Indian and Pakistani leadership at the highest level of the necessity of taking new measures to affect the settlement of the dispute within a reasonable time frame. To that end, a plan must be prepared for the demilitarization of the State with safeguards for security worked out together. Confidence that a real peace process is being launched would be inspired by the ending of repressive measures within the Indian-occupied area by both the federal and the state authorities. Release of all political prisoners, like Mohammad Yasin Malik, Shabir Ahmed Shah, Masarat Aalam, Aasia Andrabi and others will pave the way for creating a conducive atmosphere. If sincerity is brought to the process in place of cheap trickery, the dawn of peace will glow as never before over the subcontinent,” Fai clarified.
In conclusion, Dr. Fai reiterated that the United Nations Security Council resolutions couldn’t be, morally or legally, overlooked by either country. The United Nations mandate guarantees the right of self-determination to the people of Kashmir. To renounce this would be to renounce the very foundation of the United Nations as upheld in its Charter.
Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai is also the Secretary General
World Kashmir Awareness Forum
WhatsApp: 1-202-607-6435. Or. gnfai2003@yahoo.com
www.kashmirawareness.org
