Pakistan stands with Kashmiris, says Shehryar Afridi

Islamabad : Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir Chairperson Shehryar Khan Afridi has said that Pakistan stands with the people of Kashmir for their just freedom struggle against Indian occupation.

Mr Afridi was addressing an event organised here by Institute of Regional Studies (IRS) to mark the illegal Indian occupation of Jammu and Kashmir on October 27, 1947.

Afridi stated that unity and commitment with ideology were integral to upholding the Kashmir cause. He added that Kashmir and the Kahsmiris were not alone in their struggle and that Pakistan clearly realised the atrocities that had been inflicted on the people of Kashmir over the years. He said that the Government of Pakistan had neither forgotten nor forgiven the outrageous abuse of power by the Indian forces.

Senator Dr Zarqa Suharwardi Taimur, member, Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir, said that while historical references were an important part of understanding the Kashmir issue, it was more important to highlight the future course of action, seventy-four years down the line. She added that in the contemporary world, the Pakistani youth needed to realise the significance of social media as a tool that could immensely aid the task of projection and formulation of narratives to set them afloat for the rest of the world.

Asim Iftikhar, the official spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the entire Pakistani nation stood in close solidarity with the people of Kashmir against the grave and systematic human rights violations unleashed on them by the Indian forces. He said that Kashmir represented a classic case of broken promises and unfulfilled commitments.

Senator Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, Secretary International Parliamentarians’ Congress, urged the people of the world to take cognisance of the plight of the people of Kashmir. He added that blatant abuse of power had made Kashmir into a living mockery of justice and humanity.

Farzana Yaqoob, former Minister of Social Welfare and Women Development, AJK, said that the Kashmiris looked up to Pakistan and this reflected evidently in their chants of Pakistan Zindabad under the shadow of Indian guns.

Nadeem Riyaz, President IRS, said that the Kashmiris were in fact a resilient people who lived through the horrors of Indian forces.