Kashmir marks 70th anniversary of resolution to join Pakistan

Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control and across the world to observe Accession to Pakistan Day on Wednesday

ISLAMABAD: Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control and across the world will observe “Accession to Pakistan Day” on Wednesday to reinforce confidence in the historic resolution passed by the Central Executive Committee of All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference (AJKMC) in Srinagar on July 19, 1947.

Functions, walks, talk shows, seminars, conferences and symposiums would be the main features of the day in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) where elaborate programmes have been planned by social and political organisations.

AJK President Sardar Masood Khan, Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider and Speaker Shah Ghulam Qadir have said Pakistan was incomplete without Kashmir and that the people of Kashmir will continue their struggle till independence is secured.

Through their separate messages on the occasion, they said India had been depriving the people of Jammu and Kashmir from their birth right to determine their future through plebiscite as recognised by United Nations since 1947.

Meanwhile in Rawalpindi, the lobby group Youth Forum for Kashmir (YFK) on Tuesday organised a seminar titled “July 19, 1947: Kashmir Votes For Pakistan”, at the National Press Club (Camp Office Rawalpindi).

Speakers recalled how in 1947, Jammu and Kashmir had ideologically decided to join Pakistan through a unanimous resolution at the residence of Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan in Srinagar.

Speakers said that the Muslims of Kashmir decided to accede to Pakistan to protect their religious, economic and political rights.

They insisted that only peaceful resolution of the Kashmir conflict could guarantee lasting peace in the region and the world as a whole.

Speakers also highlighted how this resolution had played a key role in the Indian panic which led to the invasion of Kashmir. They urged Islamabad to give diplomatic, political and legal weight and importance to the July 19 resolution since it had been passed by representatives of Kashmiri people at the time.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 19^th, 2017.