As world leaders gather in New York for the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) under the banner "Better Together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights," the spotlight once again falls on the long-simmering conflict in Kashmir. For decades, the region has remained a flashpoint between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan, with the fate of more than 10 million Kashmiri Muslims hanging in the balance. The Pakistani Prime Minister’s address at the UNGA on September 10, 2025, is poised to highlight not only the ongoing human rights violations in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK) but also the broader implications for peace and security in South Asia and beyond.
According to 24 News HD, Pakistan intends to use this historic platform to draw urgent global attention to what it describes as systematic war crimes and crimes against humanity in IIOJK. The government’s stance is clear: India must not be permitted to mischaracterize the Kashmiri struggle for self-determination as "terrorism." Instead, Pakistan argues, the movement is a legitimate exercise of rights enshrined in Articles 1 and 55 of the United Nations Charter, as well as in pivotal UN General Assembly resolutions—1514 (XV) from 1960, 2625 (XXV) from 1970, and 2649 from the same year. These legal frameworks, reinforced by UN Security Council resolutions 47 (1948), 80 (1950), and 98 (1952), mandate a UN-supervised plebiscite to determine the region’s political future.
India’s repeated claims that Kashmir is an "internal matter" are challenged by the ongoing presence of the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) and by official UN documents that continue to list Kashmir as a disputed territory. This, as 24 News HD points out, underscores that the international community has never accepted India’s unilateral assertions over the region.
The seriousness of the crisis is not lost on the United Nations itself. In 2018, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released its first-ever report on the situation in Kashmir, calling for an international inquiry into numerous alleged violations. The report’s findings echoed the earlier plea from then-UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, who stressed the "urgent need for justice for the Kashmiri people." This call for accountability has yet to be answered, but the precedent for international action exists. The United Nations, after all, recommended war crimes trials for Myanmar’s military leadership over atrocities against the Rohingya Muslims—even though that crisis was also considered an "internal matter."
But what makes Kashmir’s situation particularly perilous is the nuclear dimension. As both Pakistan and India possess nuclear arsenals, any escalation in the region could have catastrophic consequences far beyond South Asia. The Pakistani government, therefore, is expected to remind the world that the Kashmir dispute is not just a bilateral issue; it is a potential trigger for a much larger conflict, one that could threaten global peace and stability.
Behind these diplomatic maneuvers and legal arguments lies the human toll—a reality underscored by the stories of individuals like Shabir Ahmed Shah. As profiled by KMS News, Shah’s journey from a modest upbringing in south Kashmir’s Islamabad to becoming a towering figure in the resistance movement encapsulates the broader struggle of the Kashmiri people. His activism began in the late 1960s, when he helped form the Young Men’s League and later joined the Jammu and Kashmir People’s League. Shah led mass protests against the Indira-Abdullah Accord in 1975 and the Quit Kashmir Movement in 1982, paying for his defiance with repeated imprisonments.
Shah’s commitment to the cause never wavered, even as he spent most of the 1990s behind bars. Amnesty International and other rights groups recognized him as a "Prisoner of Conscience," a testament to the fact that his incarceration was for his beliefs rather than any crime. The cycle of arrest and release became a grim routine, but each time Shah emerged from prison, he was greeted as a hero by throngs of supporters. Former RAW chief A. S. Dulat, in his memoir, vividly described how people followed Shah "like a pied Piper," underscoring his extraordinary influence on the Kashmiri populace.
Unlike many who have shifted positions under pressure, Shah’s resistance was never a mere tactic—it was, as KMS News notes, an "article of faith." He refused to accept Indian nationality, declined to participate in Indian-supervised elections, and consistently rejected offers of autonomy or economic incentives that fell short of the demand for self-determination. His refusal to compromise set him apart as a leader of rare integrity, inspiring new generations even as he endured house detentions, property confiscations, and relentless harassment.
The rigged 1987 elections marked a turning point, pushing the Valley into mass revolt and cementing Shah’s status as a central figure in the movement. Throughout the mass uprisings of 2008, 2010, and 2016, Shah was again placed under house arrest, isolated from the world. Since July 2017, he has been held in Tihar Jail, denied bail despite what his supporters describe as a lack of substantial evidence from the National Investigation Agency (NIA). For many Kashmiris, Shah remains the "living embodiment of Kashmir’s enduring struggle for justice and self-determination," as the KMS News article puts it—a symbol of moral courage and sacrifice in the face of overwhelming odds.
The broader context is equally troubling. Over 10 million Kashmiri Muslims, as reported by 24 News HD, face systematic killings, mass detentions, disappearances, and the denial of fundamental freedoms—making them, it is argued, the "most persecuted majority population in the world." The Pakistani Prime Minister’s planned address to the UNGA is expected to call for an independent international inquiry into these abuses, referencing the OHCHR’s 2018 report and demanding the initiation of a war crimes tribunal against responsible Indian officials.
Pakistan’s message to the world is unambiguous: the unresolved Kashmir issue is not just a humanitarian crisis, but a ticking time bomb threatening international peace. The government’s recommendations for the Prime Minister’s speech include exposing India’s "misrepresentation" of the Kashmiri struggle, reaffirming the right to self-determination, and highlighting the ongoing war crimes. The address will also serve as a stark reminder of the nuclear threat that looms over the subcontinent should the world continue to ignore the plight of Kashmiris.
As the UNGA convenes, the world faces a choice—whether to heed the calls for justice and self-determination in Kashmir or to allow the cycle of violence, repression, and geopolitical brinkmanship to continue unchecked. The voices of leaders like Shabir Ahmed Shah and the millions who share his dream of freedom may be silenced in prison cells and under curfews, but their struggle remains at the heart of one of the world’s most enduring and dangerous disputes.
The international community, now more than ever, is being called upon to move beyond rhetoric and take meaningful action—before the cost of inaction becomes too great for all.