Pakistan’s top diplomat at the United Nations has asserted that alleged extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and arbitrary detentions in Indian-administered Kashmir have fractured families, traumatised communities, and inflicted deep psychological scars.
Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative, contended that these practices have eroded trust and severely damaged the social fabric of Kashmiri society. He was speaking at a UN side-event in New York titled “Leaving No One Behind: Social Development Challenges in Conflict-Affect and Occupied Territories,” organised to mark Kashmir Solidarity Day, according to a report by MOIB today.
The ambassador remarked that decades of occupation and “extraordinary militarisation” have deeply impacted the daily lives of the people in the territory.
He argued that development becomes an “illusion rather than a promise when dignity is denied and voices silenced”. The Pakistani envoy also drew a parallel between the regional situations, stating that Palestinians are experiencing circumstances similar to those faced by the people of Kashmir.
Other speakers at the event included the permanent representatives of Turkiye, Azerbaijan, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).