ISLAMABAD, JAN 5 /DNA/ – To commemorate and highlight the importance of United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) resolution of 5^th January 1949, the India Study Centre at the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad (ISSI) organised a round table event titled “5 January: The Call for Self-Determination in Jammu and Kashmir” in collaboration with Kashmir Institute of International Relations (KIIR) and All Parties Hurriyet Conference (APHC).

Speaking at the occasion, Chairman Board of Governance, ISSI, Ambassador Khalid Mahmood said that the 5 January 1949 resolution established the principle that the fate of Jammu and Kashmir would be decided by the people of Jammu and Kashmir through a free and impartial plebiscite under the auspices of the United Nations (UN). India used to claim that Jammu and Kashmir is a bilateral issue, and lately, it has started saying that it is an internal issue, as it is an integral part of India.

This position is not acceptable for Pakistan, Kashmiris and the international community, who believe that Jammu and Kashmir is not a territorial issue but a matter of the right of self-determination of the people. He highlighted that it was India itself that took the matter to the UN. The UN prescribed the solution which India accepted but later on backtracked. India sometimes says this issue should be settled bilaterally and sometimes says it has already been settled. Pakistan believes that apart from bilateralism, under the UN Charter there are several other peaceful methods of resolving the dispute, like mediation, conciliation, arbitration and judicial settlement.

The Jammu and Kashmir dispute is still on the UN agenda, and the presence of UNMOGIP clearly indicates that the issue is still alive and needs resolution. The nuclear dimension, a threat to the peace and stability of the region and the ongoing massive human rights violations of Kashmiris under India occupation, all warrant early resolution of this dispute.     

In his introductory remarks, the Director of the India Study Centre, Dr Khurram Abbas, said that on this date in 1949, the UNCIP acknowledged the right of self-determination of the Kashmiri people. However, after almost 78 years, the people of Jammu and Kashmir are still waiting to exercise their right of self-determination. He said that the relevance of this resolution increased manifold post August 5, 2019. 

Mr Altaf Hussain Wani, Chairman of the Kashmir Institute of International Relations, Islamabad, said there are a number of UN resolutions on Kashmir, but the UNCIP resolution of 5 January 1949 gave a roadmap towards a solution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. India knew from the outset that it would forcefully occupy this princely state with a Muslim majority.  It thought that it would go to the UN, saying that the Maharaja had already signed an accession with India and would get Pakistan declared an aggressor. However, the maharaja had already relinquished his authority and fled the region. The UN subsequently decided that the people of Jammu and Kashmir should decide its future. The UN maintained the same position after India tried to mislead the UN by conducting Constituent Assembly elections in the region under its occupation and arguing the elections reflected the will of the people to remain with India. He encouraged the younger generation to understand the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in its true perspective and be future diplomats for the Kashmir cause.

Mr Farooq Rehmani, senior leader and former convener of the All Parties Hurriyet Conference, said that India never wanted to implement UN resolutions and therefore, it complicated the procedure by raising one objection or another. The ceasefire was only intended to bring peace in the region, but India used it to divide Azad Jammu and Kashmir from the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. He informed that the 1990s era saw one of the worst phases of human rights abuses in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. It was the time when unmarked graves were discovered across the occupied region. Post August 2019, India is actively pursuing its agenda of demographic change. Thousands of Domicile Certificates have been distributed among non-Kashmiri Indians, while the Kashmiri leadership is languishing in jails. He stressed that the people of Jammu and Kashmir do not demand restoration of Articles 370 or 35A, rather, they demand the fulfilment of their almost 80-year-old promise of the right of self-determination.

Ambassador Riffat Masood, Pakistan’s Representative to the OIC-Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC), opined that the right of self-determination was an important component of the freedom movement of India and Pakistan from British Raj. It is ironic that after its independence, India was not willing to give the same right to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Several global examples exist, such as Kosovo, South Sudan, and East Timor, where people have successfully exercised their right to self-determination. Unfortunately, despite being one of the oldest disputes on the UN agenda, the people of Jammu and Kashmir are still waiting to exercise this inalienable right. Today, the people of Jammu and Kashmir are engaged in a struggle for their survival. She highlighted the plight of Kashmiri women, particularly the half-widows. She suggested that Pakistan must mobilise public opinion both within the country and across the globe. She also stressed that the UN Secretary General must appoint a special envoy for the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. She also suggested that Pakistan should explore the possibility of taking Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for grave human rights violations in IIOJK.

Members of the think tank community, intellectuals, and a large number of students attended the event. While concluding the event, Ambassador Khalid Mahmood saluted the resilience of the Kashmiri people who refuse to give up on the just and principled demand of their right of self-determination.  He reiterated Pakistan’s unflinching political, moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmir cause.

DIG Azfar Mahesar says more than thirty large drums, five cylinders in Raees Goth raid; three BLA-linked terrorists arrested

Nazir Siyal

KARACHI: A major terror plot has been averted as the law enforcement agencies recovered over two tonnes of explosives in an operation in Karachi’s Raees Goth, Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Deputy Inspector General Ghulam Azfar Mahesar said on Monday.

“One truck, more than thirty large drums, five cylinders have been seized,” said the CTD officer while briefing the media alongside CTD AIG Zulfiqar Larik.

Providing details of the operation, DIG Mahesar noted that more than 2,000 kilogrammes of explosives have been recovered and three terrorists have been arrested.

Noting that the explosives had been defused, the police officer said that the suspects had planned a major terrorist attack in Karachi.

On the identity of the terrorists, the DIG said that they are associated with Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) commander Bashir.

Pointing out that commercial-grade explosives were also recovered, he said that the explosives were being transported via various routes and consolidated at the location concerned.

Apprising of those behind the terror plot, DIG Mahesar said that the planning was carried out abroad.

The action comes against the backdrop of ongoing nationwide counterterrorist efforts in the country, which has witnessed an increase in terror incidents since the Afghan Taliban’s takeover of Kabul.

The country, however, has experienced an almost 17% drop in terrorist attacks in December 2025 and a 9% decline in November, according to a Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) annual security report.

Pakistan had closed the Torkham and Chaman borders with Afghanistan on October 12 after the Afghan Taliban, in association with their affiliated militants, attacked multiple Pakistan Armed Forces posts along the border.

However, the report highlights that the 2025 witnessed a 34% surge in overall violence making it the most violent year for the country in a decade where it has “suffered a sustained escalation in violence for five consecutive years since 2021, coinciding with the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan; with almost 38% in 2021, over 15% in 2022, 56% in 2023, nearly 67% in 2024, and 34% in 2025”.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which has faced the brunt of terrorist attacks and accounted for over 96% of all fatalities and almost 93% of violent incidents recorded during the entire 2025.

Meanwhile, Sindh reported 51 incidents causing 56 fatalities and 40 injuries; 1.73% of the total.

With about 2,060 deaths as a result of at least 392 security operations, the outlaws accounted for over 60% of the fatalities recorded in 2025 — surpassing the combined fatal losses among the civilians and security officials.

Highlighting the strategic importance of higher education, Ahsan Iqbal said that in the 21st century, the real strength of nations lay in strong institutions and a well-trained human resource base

Saifullah Ansar

ISLAMABAD, Jan 5 (DNA): Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Monday said the launch of Maktab, an integrated digital platform introduced under the Higher Education Commission (HEC), was a clear message of Pakistan’s national resolve to transform higher education through digital governance, transparency and performance-based systems.

Addressing the online launching ceremony of Maktab, the minister said Pakistan’s universities were moving away from cumbersome paper-based processes towards modern, efficient and data-driven performance management systems.

“From now on, decisions in higher education institutions will not be based on assumptions but on data, evidence and measurable outcomes,” he remarked.

Highlighting the strategic importance of higher education, Ahsan Iqbal said that in the 21st century, the real strength of nations lay in strong institutions and a well-trained human resource base.

“World-class universities are not built merely through impressive buildings; they are shaped by transparent governance, effective management and accountability,” he added.

The minister said that nations do not progress accidentally. “Development is the result of planning, discipline, continuity and sustained reforms,” he said, stressing that knowledge, technology and innovation formed the backbone of Pakistan’s economic resilience and future competitiveness.

Referring to the government’s long-term development roadmap, he said innovation and competitiveness played a central role across all five pillars of the Uraan Pakistan vision.

“Human resource development was declared a national priority as early as Vision 2010, laying the foundation for reforms in higher education,” he recalled.

Under successive national visions, the minister said, concrete steps were taken to strengthen research and talent development. He said the landmark 10,000 PhD programme had been launched to produce globally competitive scholars, while Vision 2025 focused on establishing modern research and innovation centres across the country.

“Now, under Uraan Pakistan, universities, research and the economy are being integrated into a single ecosystem to drive sustainable growth,” he said, adding that Pakistan’s top 10 premium universities would be prepared to compete at the global level.

He informed the participants that a dedicated committee had been formed to identify premium universities and propose comprehensive reform measures.

“The committee will submit its recommendations within one month, which will serve as the basis for transforming selected institutions into globally competitive centres of excellence,” he said.

The minister further said that a seven-point University Quality Framework was being implemented to enhance academic standards, governance and research output. Under this framework, public funding for higher education would be linked to performance, outcomes and measurable impact rather than routine allocations.

“Competition and merit will now be the guiding principles in our universities,” he said, adding that the era of complacency and inefficiency was coming to an end.