Up in arms: Demo held to express solidarity with Kashmiris

All other matters must be put on the back burner, protesters say

MULTAN: Scores of members of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz staged a demonstration on Thursday to condemn Indian atrocities in Kashmir and to express solidarity with Kashmiris.

Some of the protesters ‘beat up’ the Indian flag with shoes before setting it alight. They shouted: “Kashmir banay ga Pakistan” (Kashmir will become a part of Pakistan) and “Down with Modi”. The demonstration was led by PML-N leader Sohail Faraz. He said the Kashmiris had been fighting a war for freedom for five decades. “Theirs is a just cause.” He said that Pakistan should raise the matter in the United Nations Security Council. “We should leave no stone unturned in helping our Kashmiri brethren.”

He condemned the atrocities committed by the government in India and the killing of Burhan Wani and 36 other protesters. He said that Pakistan should aim for a dialogue with India. “All matters should be put on the back burner till the resolution of the Kashmir issue.”

Dialogue is the only solution forward, he said. “The matter must be resolved through agreement among Pakistan, India and the people of Kashmir.”

The protesters demanded that the United States of America play a forceful role in pushing for resolution of the Kashmir issue.

They said the government must prepare a strategy in this regard so that Kashmiris could get the right to self-determination.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 15^th, 2016.