Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan and Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider Khan have called upon the international community to grant people of Jammu and Kashmir their right to self-determination under the spirit of January 5, 1949 resolution passed by the United Nations. In their messages on the eve of the Right to Self-Determination Day, being observed on January 5 (today), the AJK leaders said 68 years had lapsed since the United Nations passed the resolution assuring Kashmiris of their birth right to self-determination on January 5, 1949.

The AJK President said, "Today, the AJK government and the people of Azad Kashmir and overseas Kashmiris are observing the Right to Self-Determination Day. This is an occasion to reiterate our firm support to the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their legitimate struggle for their inalienable right to self-determination."

Sardar Masood Khan said, "On this day we reaffirm our resolve to stand by our brothers and sisters in their valiant struggle for their just cause. The peaceful people of Jammu and Kashmir continue to suffer. Not only the right to self-determination is being denied to them, but they are also being subjected to the worst kind of human rights abuses violence and suppression."

Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider, in his message, reiterated that the Kashmir dispute remained close to the heart of Pakistanis and people of Azad Kashmir. Pakistan, he said, remained firmly committed to its principled stance on Jammu and Kashmir. He said the observance of Right to Self-Determination Day on 5th January every year was a reaffirmation of "our moral, political and diplomatic support towards our Kashmiris."

Copyright Associated Press of Pakistan, 2017