Kashmir Solidarity Day: Thousands rally to support Kashmir struggle

Thousands take to the streets across Azad Jammu and Kashmir to condemn the Indian occupation of Jammu and Kashmir.

MUZAFFARABAD: ‘Kashmir Solidarity Day’ was marked throughout the country on Saturday, as demonstrators stepped out in solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their struggle for the right to self-determination.

Thousands took to the streets across Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) to condemn the Indian occupation of Jammu and Kashmir.

Kashmir Solidarity Day began in Muzaffarabad with banners and hoardings calling for freedom and Kasmiris chanting slogans against Indian occupation.

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, who was scheduled  to visit the state capital to express solidarity with the Kashmiris, sent a message to a joint session of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly, due to the cancellation of his trip.

In the message, read out by speaker Choudhary Anwarul Haq, the PM urged India to hold a purposeful dialogue with Pakistan to settle the Kashmir dispute.

Reiterating Pakistan’s support for the freedom struggle of Kashmiris, Gilani said the futures of Pakistan and Kashmir were linked. “We cannot ignore our responsibility in addressing the miseries and sufferings of innocent people,” he said. He assured that Pakistan remains firmly committed to its stance on Jammu and Kashmir, based on the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions.

“The Jammu and Kashmir issue remains an unfulfilled agenda of the United Nations. This unresolved issue calls for reiteration by the international community to support the people of Kashmir in their fight for self-determination” Gilani said. He urged India to have a meaningful and result oriented dialogue with Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir issue.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Jamaat-e-Islami activists took part in rallies across Pakistan.

“We condemn Indian atrocities in the Indian-held Kashmir where human rights are being violated by the Indian forces,” said JI chief Syed Munnawar Hassan, while addressing the rally at Aabpara Chowk in Islamabad.

Jamaat-e-Ulema Islamabad, Pakistan Muslim League-Q, Pakistan Muslim League-N and Pakistan Peoples Party also held rallies to mark the day.

In Quetta, banned outfit Jamaatud Dawa took out a procession in connection with the solidarity day, while Jamaat-e-Islami marched through different parts of the city.

Similarly in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, government and different political parties organised programmes to observe the day.

Addressing a seminar, provincial information minister Mian Iftikhar said that Kashmir belongs to the Kashmiris and no power could deny them their basic right.

Kasmir Day rallies were also held in Lahore. The biggest rally was organised at The Mall by banned outfit, Jamaatud Dawa. Pakistan needs to aggressively pursue jihad against India for the liberation of Kashmir, even if it results in a nuclear war,  speakers said. WITH REPORTING BY ROSHAN MUGHAL IN MUZAFFARABAD, MANZOOR ALI IN PESHAWAR, SHEHZAD BALOCH IN QUETTA AND PEER MUHAMMAD IN ISLAMABAD

Published in The Express Tribune, February 6^th, 2011.