Islamabad, October 13 : Senior leader All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Salvation Movement (JKSM), Altaf Ahmed Bhat, has sharply criticized the recent joint statement by the Foreign Ministers of India and Afghanistan concerning Jammu and Kashmir. He said their remarks are politically motivated, historically false, and legally unsustainable.
Bhat stated that Jammu and Kashmir remains an unresolved international dispute, not an internal matter of India. “The issue is clearly defined in the United Nations Security Council resolutions, which call for a free and impartial plebiscite so that the people of Kashmir can decide their own future,” he said.
Expressing concern over the Afghan Foreign Minister’s endorsement of India’s position, Bhat said it was deeply unfortunate for a nation that has itself endured occupation and conflict to overlook the suffering of another oppressed people. “We expect Afghanistan to stand on the side of justice and principle, not political convenience,” he added.
Altaf Ahmed Bhat reaffirmed that the Kashmiri freedom movement is peaceful, legitimate, and rooted in international law, rejecting India’s efforts to portray it as extremism. He warned that New Delhi’s ongoing attempts to alter the demographic and cultural identity of the region by settling non-locals in Kashmir is a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and fundamental human rights.
He urged the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and world powers to move beyond statements and take practical steps to hold India accountable for its actions in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
“The people of Kashmir have faced occupation, killings, disappearances, and imprisonment for decades yet their resolve for freedom remains unbroken,” Bhat said. “Our struggle will continue peacefully until the right to self-determination, guaranteed by the UN, is realized.”
