Nation to participate in Kashmir Hour on Friday

National anthem will be played and sirens sounded on the occasion: ISPR


Ahmad Mansoor August 28, 2019
DG ISPR Maj-Gen Asif Ghafoor. PHOTO: EXPRESS/FILE

ISLAMABAD: The National Anthem and the anthem of Kashmir will be sung, while sirens will blare on Friday (tomorrow) noon to mark the Kashmir Hour, an initiative of the government to express solidarity with the Kashmiri people in the wake of India's unprecedented lockdown of the occupied valley.

Maj-Gen Asif Ghafoor, the Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), appealed to the country’s youth to participate in the government’s initiative to observe ‘Kashmir Hour’ every week.

In line with the government's announcement to observe 'Kashmir Hour' at 12pm on August 30, national anthems of Pakistan and Kashmir will be played at noon on Friday, Maj-Gen Ghafoor said, speaking at a conference in connection with the upcoming Defence and Martyrs Day.

“Sirens will also be blared for Kashmir Hour,” he told the conference attended by civil and military leaders from across the country. The conference was held to discuss ceremonies for Defence and Martyrs Day 2019 which would be observed on September 6.

Ghafoor appealed to the youth, particularly students, to take part in the initiative, adding that national heroes, people from the entertainment industry, and media representatives would be among those showing solidarity with Kashmiris.

He said the main event of Defence and Martyrs Day will be held at the General Headquarters (GHQ), which will be attended by the veterans and the families of martyrs. Portraits of the national heroes would be displayed at public places and in neighbourhoods.

The ISPR, Maj-Gen Ghafoor said, will organise a conference as part of the day's events, while exhibitions of weapons will be held in garrisons and cantonments. He added that unlike last year, the main event at GHQ will be held in the daytime this year.

In his address to the nation this week, Prime Minister Imran Khan announced the government’s plan to observe Kashmir Hour every Friday from 12:00 pm to 12:30 pm to show solidarity with the Kashmiri people in the wake of India’s move to strip occupied Kashmir of special status.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said on Wednesday that Pakistan would give a "strong message to the world by expressing solidarity with the oppressed people of occupied Kashmir on Friday.

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