ISLAMABAD, JAN 6 /DNA/ – The Kashmir issue remains a legally valid and internationally recognized struggle for the right to self-determination, grounded in binding UN Security Council resolutions. However, geopolitical power asymmetries have obstructed its resolution, thereby placing renewed responsibility on Pakistan’s youth to carry forward the cause while remaining guided by the principles of Pakistan’s ideology.
This was discussed during a seminar at the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), held in collaboration with the Youth Forum for Kashmir (YFK). The event, titled “January 05: Lessons, Dialogue, and the Way Forward,” focused on the unresolved Jammu and Kashmir problem and its enduring legal, political, and moral dimensions. The event brought together diplomats, scholars, and university students, fostering intergenerational discussion on the issue.
The speakers included Ambassador (r) Sardar Masood Khan, former president of AJK; Khalid Rahman, chairman IPS; Farzana Yaqoob, secretary IPS Working Group on Kashmir; Dr Waleed Rasool, executive director Institute of Dialogue, Development and Diplomatic Studies; Umair Parvez from National Defence University; and Zaman Bajwa, executive director YFK.
While interacting with students, Ambassador (r) Masood Khan observed that Generation Z, owing to its high exposure to social media, is uniquely empowered by unprecedented access to information and platforms for expression. This, in turn, places upon this generation the responsibility of highlighting the Kashmir cause at multiple levels.
He suggested that the youth should regard themselves as the architects of the nation and, in this context, revisit the Kashmir issue while anchoring their ambitions within the ideological foundations of Pakistan. Noting that successive generations have made sacrifices in pursuit of a just resolution of the Kashmir issue, Masood Khan emphasized that this responsibility has now passed to Pakistan’s youth. He further reiterated that Pakistanis and Kashmiris constitute a single entity, bound together by a shared ideology of brotherhood. The events of May 2025 have further reinforced this collective resolve.
Dr Waleed Rasool noted that January 5, 1949, marks a pivotal moment in Kashmir’s history, when the UN Security Council explicitly recognized the right of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to determine their political future through a free and impartial plebiscite. He emphasized that the UNSC resolutions were not externally imposed but emerged after India itself approached the UN, thereby acknowledging that the question of Kashmir’s final status remained unresolved. Despite the passage of seven decades, the UN-mandated framework for self-determination remains unimplemented, largely due to the interests of major powers and prevailing power asymmetries within the international system. However, the failure to implement these resolutions does not diminish the legal validity of the issue; rather, it exposes the selective application of international law.
Umair Parvez argued that resolving the Kashmir issue is imperative because it concerns the Kashmiri people’s fundamental right to self-determination, a right affirmed by multiple UN resolutions. He observed that while inspiration may be drawn from peaceful self-determination movements, such as those in Ireland and Scotland, the reality of Indian colonial control in Kashmir means that resistance cannot be delegitimized. In this context, the concept of reputational security becomes relevant, as persistent rights violations in Kashmir undermine India’s international standing and, in turn, reinforce the legitimacy of the Kashmiri cause.
In his concluding remarks, Khalid Rahman highlighted the changing dynamics of the international system, noting that adversaries who fail to persuade their target populations often resort to spreading confusion and chaos to exert control over the masses. He further emphasized that the struggle for achieving any objective requires patience and a long-term, pragmatic vision on the part of stakeholders. At the same time, he stressed the importance of clarity of purpose and diversity in the means employed to achieve it.
