AJK Foundation Day: No guarantee of peace sans Kashmir solution: Qadir

Acting AJK president hoists flag, renews vow to struggle for self-determination

MUZAFFARABAD: Acting President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Shah Ghulam Qadir on Monday hoisted the flag in Khurshid Hassan Khurshid stadium to mark the 69th Foundation Day of AJK. The police presented the acting president with a guard of honour as he reviewed the parade.

Qadir said that Kashmiris are still fighting in the streets of Srinagar for their basic rights and offered his assurance that the people of AJK are with them in their ongoing liberation movement. “Without a permanent solution to the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, nobody can guarantee permanent peace and security in the region. World powers and global human rights organisations should come forward to settle the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in line with the wishes and aspirations of the people of Indian occupied Kashmir, who have been rendering matchless sacrifices for the noble cause for a long time,” Qadir added.

He said that Kashmiris’ resolve and continued shut down will force the world community to pay attention to their demand, which is simply the right to self-determination. During the foundation day, schoolchildren and police contingents’ marches were widely appreciated by  thousands of spectators present in Khurshid Hassan Khurshid Stadium. Schoolchildren also sang national songs, while policemen displayed their training skills.



Later, Qadir also gave gallantry medals to six policemen and officers.

For the first time in the state’s history, government departments presented individual floats during the foundation day celebration. The Tourism Department float was one of the most attractive ones, depicting the culture and landscape of the area. AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider Khan announced Rs1 million each for the departments which presented floats at  the parade.

Foundation Day was also observed in all ten district headquarters of the region. Meanwhile, in AJK University’s Chela Campus, a solidarity march was taken out from the Kashmir Studies Department to the library to express solidarity with the people of Indian occupied Kashmir.

Besides students and teachers, AJK Prime Minister Khan, Acting President Qadir, Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed, Vice Chancellor Dr Farooq Ahmad, and AJK ministers were also present in the march. Later, in a Kashmir conference organised by AJK University, a resolution was unanimously passed to appeal to the United Nations to exert pressure on India to stop human rights violations in Kashmir and give the local people the right to self-determination.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 25^th, 2016.