‘Pakistanism – main driving force behind Kashmir freedom movement’

Speakers call upon whole nation to rise up and support Kashmiri people at the most delicate juncture of their movement

MUZAFFARABAD:

Speakers at a conference on "Pakistaniat – the main driving force behind Kashmir Freedom Movement" organised in Muzaffarabad by Pakistan Institute of Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) on Tuesday, called upon the whole nation to rise up and support Kashmiri people at the most delicate juncture of their movement.

Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Sardar Masood Khan, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee Kashmir on Shehryar Khan Afridi, former AJK prime minister Sardar Attique Khan and prominent Kashmiri leader Altaf Ahmed Bhatt were among the speakers.

The AJK president said that the Kashmiri people are intertwined with Pakistan through natural and sentimental bonds, and “this is an irrefutable fact that the spirit of Pakistanism is the main driving force in the ongoing liberation movement”.

He added: “On the contrary, India's much hyped bonds with the Kashmiri people are unnatural, unlawful and prejudicial to the wishes and aspirations of the Kashmiri people.”

November 03; Muzaffarabad: Addressing the participants at an event "Pakistaniat: The Mian Driving Force Behind Kashmir Freedom Movement", organized by Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) pic.twitter.com/i7t8t5SaqS

— Masood Khan (@Masood__Khan) November 3, 2020

 

Masood also said that as the Kashmiri people took out to break India's repressive bonds with them, India started declaring the Kashmiri people terrorists, and Pakistan a terror-sponsored state for supporting the legitimate liberation struggle of the Kashmiri people.

He maintained that “we must not show haste in holding talks with India because it is slaughtering our children and disgracing our sisters and daughters in the disputed territory while its hysteric leaders are threatening to strike Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan”.

Talks with India, the AJK president said, would not be held without the involvement of the Kashmiri people and sans the supervision of the UN Security Council.

On the issue of blasphemous caricatures, Masood asserted that the whole Muslim world has responded to the blasphemous move of France, and “India should also get such a response”.

Speaking on the occasion Shehryar Afridi warned Indian regime of the consequences of its policy of genocide in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), saying: “India today stands extremely polarised and it is bound to disintegrate due to the policies adopted by the Hindutva regime.”

Modi regime, he said, is committing war crimes in IIOJK and “these war crimes have exposed the true face of India to the world”.

The Kashmir Committee chairman also said that Indian agents of Muslim origin like Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, and Muslims of India have recognised the fact that Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah's struggle for Pakistan and two-nation ideology was right and their policy was wrong.

“Nations are recognised after struggles and sacrifices and Kashmiris have made all sacrifices required to make an impact," he said. Kashmir, Afridi added, is jugular vein of Pakistan according to the vision of Qauid-i-Azam and Pakistan would continue its legal, moral and political support for the freedom struggle of Kashmiris.

He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan is ambassador of Kashmiris and Kashmir Committee is the voice of Pakistan. "India is distorting history through its soft power. Today, Pakistan has the ability of mutual assured destruction."

Afridi said that youth need to be the voice of the voiceless Kashmiris. "Our valiant armed forces are sacrificing their precious lives for securing the lives of Kashmiris living on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC)."

He said that the Kashmir Committee is employing all its resources to raise voice for Kashmiris and a special focus is being laid on securing digital space and protecting and promoting the cultural heritage of Kashmir.

"Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) is being given a special provincial status in line with the United Nations resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir and Prime Minister Imran Khan has pledged to provide unprecedented funds to bring the G-B at par with other parts of Pakistan," Afridi said.

He also urged the youth to rise to the occasion and “protect and project the cause of Kashmir”.

Sardar Attique said that reservations of the Kashmiri leadership on both sides of the LoC about the provincial status of G-B are “valid because this will hurt the ongoing liberation movement, and also weaken Pakistan's stand on the Kashmir issue on the international level”.

“However, the people of Gilgit-Baltistan should be granted the same right which the people of a province enjoy,” he added.

Kashmiris, the former AJK premier said, are honored that they had decided to associate their destiny with Pakistan before the formation of Pakistan by adopting accession to Pakistan resolution in July 19, 1947 and this affiliation was based on an “ideology and belief”.

He also said that along with love for Islam and Pakistan, oppression of India is also a factor in Kashmir's independence movement. "If we make no mistake and respect the aspirations of the Kashmiris, the time is not far when the Kashmir freedom movement will attain its logical conclusion and the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir will become part of Pakistan while maintaining its own peculiar identity."