Pakistan Embassy Event Highlights Kashmir Dispute, Calls for Referendum
Diplomatic representatives from Angola, Zambia, Palestine, Indonesia, Turkey, and Nicaragua attended the solidarity event.
HARARE, Zimbabwe — Pakistan's embassy marked Kashmir Solidarity Day Wednesday, drawing diplomatic representatives from six nations to condemn what officials described as ongoing human rights violations in the disputed territory, writes Wallace Mawire.
Ambassador Murad Baseer of Pakistan told attendees that Kashmir has faced "settler colonial policies aimed at displacing, disempowering, and silencing its people" under Indian control.
"This includes deaths of innocent and unarmed civilians, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial executions, mass graves, and torture," Baseer said at the embassy event.
The Kashmir Institute of International Relations reports that India has controlled approximately 55% of the region since October 27, 1947, when it established authority over Jammu, the Kashmir Valley, and Ladakh.
Baseer criticised India for not implementing a 1949 United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a plebiscite to determine Kashmir's future.
The territory remains disputed between India and Pakistan.
Diplomatic representatives from Angola, Zambia, Palestine, Indonesia, Turkey, and Nicaragua attended the solidarity event.
The Kashmir conflict dates back 77 years, when India established control of the territory following the partition of British India. Pakistan disputes India's claim to the region.