Academia urged to highlight plight of Kashmiris

Islamabad: We, as a nation, need to keep pressuring international community for the early resolution of Kashmir issue in line with the aspirations of the Kashmir people, said Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis Sayed Zulfiqar Bukhari on Thursday.

Addressing the Defence Day celebration at the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) Girls College here, he said the teachers and academia should strive to keep the Kashmir issue alive among Pakistani youths.

The premier's special assistant said the young generation should know that the situation in Indian-occupied Kashmir was not just a dispute between two countries and instead, it was a humanitarian issue as well.

"The world needs to look at the Kashmir issue as a human crisis. Kashmiri children and women are being denied food and medicines, while other Kashmiris are being tortured by the Indian occupation forces. The Kashmir crisis has emerged as one of the biggest concerns in today's world. Kashmir is witnessing the world's largest human rights violations," he said.

Zulfiqar Bukhari said the situation in Kashmir should not be deemed as curfew as curfew was lifted after some time but the occupied Kashmir has been witnessing the worst lockdown and communications blackout of the recent history for weeks. It is an unprecedented siege," he said.

The premier's special assistant said remembering martyrs who gave their lives in the line of duty to keep us safe was our national duty. "It is an important day for Pakistan and celebrating it in schools to pay tribute to our soldiers will help instill the sense of patriotism in youths," he added.

Zulfiqar Bukhari appreciated the leading role of Prime Minister Imran Khan on Kashmir issue and said the premier had been striving to draw the world's attention to the misery of Kashmiris at the hands of Indian forces.