Condemnations have flowed in over the Indian Supreme Court’s verdict on Indian-held Kashmir. One such unanimous condemnation and rejection of this verdict has also come from the legislative assembly of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). All members of the assembly have rejected the verdict on grounds of violations of not just the resolutions of the United Nations Charter and United Nations Security Council but also a violation of political guarantees and promises that were made earlier to the various political representatives of J&K.
The fact that AJK’s assembly has denounced the verdict that directly impacts the lives of people in its occupied other half is the right message of solidarity from a free people. Not just words and condemnation, the assembly’s principled stance and support for the unjustly occupied people will be translated in the coming days when it will deliver a memorandum to the United Nations Military Observers’ Group stationed in AJK. A committee has also been formed to chalk out an action plan and determine what more can be done by the AJK assembly as well as people to raise the cause and not let it die like India wishes.
The verdict of India’s top court reinstating the abrogation of J&K’s special status as rightful and lawful has been received widely as a political verdict. The court has bypassed constitutional and legal considerations to restate the stance of the BJP-led government in the country. In giving a verdict that has appealed to the ruling party, the court has left many questions unanswered and ambiguity still exists around what the status of J&K will be. It also remains unclear how the territory will be governed till the elections that the court has announced to be held in September, next year.
Many people fear that India’s government might again go hard on the people of J&K just like it did before and after the abrogation of 370 in a complete media blackout and shutdown. The verdict has disappointed people in and out of India. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry has also rejected the decision completely and so have many other officials, politicians, and civil society activists. AJK assembly by voicing its rejection unanimously has sent out a strong message for people divided and oppressed on the other side. It signals AJK’s commitment to justice and International Law. The assertion that the state of J&K remains an internationally recognised disputed territory, subject to a plebiscite under the UN’s auspices, reflects a steadfast adherence to established principles.