Kashmir Solidarity Day observed with full zeal

ISLAMABAD: The Kashmir Solidarity Day was observed across the world, including Pakistan and Azad Kashmir, on Thursday as demonstrators stepped out in solidarity with the people of Indian-held Jammu and Kashmir in their struggle for their right to self-determination.
The day was observed to give to the world a loud and clear message that the hearts of Pakistanis and Kashmiris throb in unison.
The day is marked in Pakistan since February 1990 to pay homage to the Kashmiri martyrs and highlight their struggle for their right to self-determination, promised to them by the international community under the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.
Besides sending out a serious message of solidarity, the ‘February 5th’ is also observed with the objective to call on the world community to push India for a peaceful solution of the Kashmir dispute.
A one-minute silence was also observed at 10:00 hours to honour the Kashmiri martyrs. On the occasion, a public holiday was observed across the country, including Azad Kashmir.
With the pledge to continue support for the Kashmiris’ rightful struggle against the illegal Indian occupation since October 27, 1947, thousands in Pakistan joined rallies and attended seminars on the day with traditional patriotic passion.
The rallies were taken out in almost all small and big cities of the country, including Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, mainly by Jamaat-e-Islami and Jamaat-ud-Dawa.
Holding banners and hoardings inscribed with slogans of freedom for Kashmiris, the marchers called on the world community to push India for a peaceful solution to the Kashmir dispute and take note of New Delhi’s atrocities in the region.
The hallmark of the day was the formation of a human chain of Pakistanis and Kashmiris on all the six bridges at the entry points of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). Thousands of people belonging to AJK and Pakistan gathered to form a human Chain.
As a public holiday, people staged rallies in all big and small cities across the AJK, including the capital city of Muzaffarabad and divisional headquarters of Mirpur and Rawalakot and vowed to be with their oppressed brethren in their hour of trial.
The Kashmir Solidarity Day was also observed in Kotli and Bhimbher districts with traditional zeal and fervour. Grand public rallies were taken out in both the districts to mark the day.
All the three radio stations of Azad Kashmir, including Mirpur, Muzaffarabad and Tarakheil, and AJK TV aired special programmes and the AJK Press brought out special supplements to highlight the struggle of Kashmiris.
The Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly and the upper house of AJK Parliament, the AJK Council, held a joint session to pay tribute to the people of occupied Jammu & Kashmir for their continued struggle to achieve their right of self- determination.
Rallies were also taken out in different parts of the world to express solidarity with Kashmiris.
President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in their separate messages urged the international community to play its role for the solution of the Kashmir issue.
In his message, the president called on international community to take notice of the gross human rights violations in the occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
He said the right to self-determination is being denied to the people of Jammu and Kashmir despite the United Nations’ promises through various resolutions.
The president reiterated Pakistan’s unwavering moral, diplomatic and political support to the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their just struggle for their inalienable right to self-determination.
In his message, Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif said only a just resolution of the Kashmir issue could bring lasting peace in South Asia.
He urged the UN General Assembly and international community to pay attention to the plight of hapless Kashmiris.
The prime minister said his government would continue to extend diplomatic and political support to Kashmiris’ struggle for the right to self-determination.
Adviser to Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, said meaningful dialogues with India were not possible until the resolution of the Kashmir dispute.
A number of Pakistani and Kashmiri leaders have said that the Kashmir issue should be urgently resolved in accordance with the UN resolutions. The Kashmir related world body resolutions enshrine the right of the Kashmiri people to self-determination.
They recalled that both India and Pakistan had accepted the resolutions. Pakistan continues to stand for these resolutions, while India is not ready to honour its commitment to the Kashmiri people and the world at large. The speakers highlighted repressive Indian moves in Occupied Kashmir and saluted the Kashmiri people for their heroic struggle for their right to self-determination.
The Kashmiri people have offered supreme sacrifices for their cause and their sacrifices have been unprecedented.
They made a special mention of the changing scenario in Occupied Kashmir with Indian ruling party BJP trying to make inroads into the body politic of Jammu and Kashmir.
Sardar Khalid Ibrahim, a prominent Kashmiri leader, said Pakistan’s stand on the Kashmir issue is based on internationally recognised principle of self-determination. He said Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had great faith in the people of Jammu and Kashmir and the great Quaid believed that they would make the right decision when allowed to exercise their right to self-determination. He said there is no doubt that Kashmiris would vote for Pakistan whenever they got the opportunity.
The All Parties Hurriyat Conference in a statement issued in Srinagar expressed the hope that the United States and other major powers of the world community would come forward and use their influence to push for a dialogue between Pakistan and India to de-escalate the tension in the region by amicably resolving the Kashmir dispute.
The APHC thanked Pakistan for observing the Day.
The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front Chairman, Muhammad Yasin Malik in a statement said that the state subject law and struggle for its protection in the territory was directly linked to the Kashmiris’ resistance movement. – Agencies
Asim Hussain adds from Lahore: Tens of thousands of people rallied across Lahore on Thursday to observe the ‘Kashmir Solidarity Day’ to highlight the Indian occupation of Muslim majority Kashmir state, setting ablaze Indian flags and effigies of Indian Prime Minister Modi and Army chief Dalbir Singh Suhag, condemning the UN silence over the six-decade-long violation of its resolutions on Kashmir and demanding UN to press New Delhi for quick implementation of those, and urging the world community to take notice of gross violations of human rights by the Indian occupation forces.
Almost all religious and political parties held meetings, seminars and demonstrations to mark the day, condemning the Indian occupation of Kashmir in violation of UN resolutions and perpetrating the worst kind of human rights abuses on Kashmiri Muslims for demanding freedom. They drew a parallel between the Kashmir issue with those of East Timor and Scotland, asking if the UN could force those countries to hold plebiscites, then why it was allowing Delhi to continue six-decade trampling of UN resolutions.
Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JUD), JI, JUI-S, PPP, PML-N, PTI, Sunni Tehrik, and different Kashmiri groups held demonstrations and rallies, mostly on the Mall Road and the Lahore Press Club to register the protest on the six decade delay in solving the Kashmir issue despite the UN resolutions calling for an immediate plebiscite in Kashmir to allow the people to decide which country between Pakistan and India they wanted to annex.
A number of student and youth organisations organised seminars, demonstrations and walks in which the participants highlighted the need for a solution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with UN resolutions.
The Youth Forum for Kashmir (YFK) organised a seminar and a walk while Islami Tehreek-e-Talaba (ITT) also held a demonstration.