Govt should endeavour for freedom of Kashmir: JI

Senator Sirajul Haq appeals of participation in demonstrations on Feb 5

LAHORE: Urging the government to be more than just a silent spectator, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Senator Sirajul Haq called on the masses to take part in demonstrations on Kashmir Day (on February 5) to express solidarity with the people of the occupied valley.

Addressing a press conference in federal capital, he said that demonstrations would be organised in large and small cities across the country, including Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta and Muzaffarabad.

The JI chief urged the government to adopt a policy of seeking freedom of Kashmir from occupation. “A deputy foreign minister for Kashmir should be appointed to highlight the issue all over the world. Kashmir desks should be set up in embassies abroad,” he added.

Haq criticised the governmend for “playing the role of a silent spectator in the conflict”. The JI chief also called on the international bodies, including the United Nations, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to ensure implementation of the UN resolutions on Kashmir.



The senator also shed light on India’s increasing atrocities in the occupied part of the valley, calling it a cynical ploy adopted by politicians ahead of India’s general elections. “Three to four Kashmiris are being martyred every day,” he remarked.

According to Haq, more than 8,000 youth arrested by Indian forces are missing. Last year, he added, 375 Kashmiris were killed in operations by the occupying force. He also hailed the contributions and sacrifices made by Kashmiri leaders including Syed Ali Geelani, Shabir Shah, Yasin Malik, and Asiya Andrabi.

Furthermore, he continued, the people in the valley have been fighting the battle for freedom for the last 71 years, while 95,000 Kashmiris have been martyred during the last 28 years. He added that over 100,000 people were arrested in less than a decade.

He went on to say that India has constructed 62 large and small dams in violation of the Indus Water Treaty, while taking advantage of the law and order situations in Pakistan after the arrival of NATO troops in Afghanistan.

He lambasted India for its continuing atrocities, saying it had turned the beautiful valley into a prison militarising the region to a point where there is one soldier for every 10 Kashmiris. “Despite all this, the freedom movement is not going to stop,” he thundered.

Senior leaders of the party including the party’s Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) chief Dr Khalid Mehmood, parliamentary leader Maulana Akbar Chitrali and others were also present.