Kashmir Solidarity Day today

Hurriyyat leaders reiterated unwavering support of people of Pakistan and AJK, for Kashmiris

ISLAMABAD:

Kashmir Solidarity Day will be observed on Monday to express whole-hearted support of the Pakistani nation to the just struggle of Kashmiri people for their inalienable right to self-determination under the UN resolutions.

The Ministry of Kashmir Affairs said in a statement on Sunday that arrangements had been made to observe the day at home and abroad in a grand manner. A one-minute silence will be observed at 09:30 am to pay homage to the Kashmiri martyrs, it added.

To mark the day, the ministry said, solidarity walks would be organised across the country. In Islamabad, it added, a rally would be held in solidarity with the Kashmiri people on the Constitution Avenue to be led by cabinet members.

The event would be joined by the parliamentarians and people belonging to different walks of life. Posters and billboards would be displayed on important roads, airports, and railway stations to highlight the plight of Kashmiri people.

In connection with the day, debate and declamation contests as well as essay writing competitions will be organised in educational institutions. The media will broadcast special programmes to express solidarity with the oppressed Kashmiris of IIOJK.

In his message on the eve of Kashmir Solidarity Day, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar said that India’s illegal and unilateral actions of August 5, 2019 were a blatant violation of international law including the UN Charter, 4th Geneva Convention and the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

“India has since been engaged in efforts to further entrench these illegal measures through a series of steps aimed at altering the demographic structure and political landscape of IIOJK [Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir],” the prime minister said.

He said that the ‘Kashmir Solidarity Day’ was an occasion to pay rich tribute to the sacrifices made by their Kashmiri brothers and sisters during the last 76 years, he added. “Pakistan will continue to extend its unstinted moral, diplomatic and political support for this just cause,” he added.

Meanwhile, Special Assistant to Prime Minister for Human Rights and Women Empowerment Mushaal Hussein Mullick has said that Kashmir Solidarity Day serves as a reminder that the people of Jammu and Kashmir are not alone in their struggle against the Indian illegal occupation.

Read: PAC hosts vibrant Kashmir solidarity event

Addressing a press conference along with senior Hurriyyat leaders Farooq Rehmani, Ghulam Muhammad Safi and Mehmood Ahmad Saghar, the SAPM reiterated the unwavering support of the people of Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), for their Kashmiri brethren in their just struggle.

She described the people of Jammu and Kashmir as a barrier against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s attempts to create an Akhand Bharat. She likened the Hindutva regime of India to the Zionist regime of Israel, terming them significant threats to world peace.

She asserted that both Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were in a race to committee genocides – with Modi pursuing a brutal genocide in Kashmir and Netanyahu in the Palestine territory of Gaza.

Expressing deep concern over the situation in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), Mullick lamented the Indian government’s ban on representative political parties that voice the aspirations of the people in IIOJK.

She expressed the fear that her husband, Yasin Malik, a prominent figure in IIOJK, might be unfairly targeted and made a scapegoat for Modi’s electoral triumph. She asserted that India was actively altering the demographics of the IIOJK by granting Kashmiri domiciles to non-Kashmiris.

She highlighted the historical stance of the people of IIOJK in boycotting farce elections in the region.

She cautioned that any potential increase in turnout during the upcoming September elections could be attributed to the illegal settlements and the illegal issuance of Kashmiri domiciles to non-Kashmiris.

Mullick expressed concern about the eradication of Muslim heritage under the auspices of the Modi government. She said that the inauguration of the Ram Mandir by Modi at the site where the historic Babri Masjid once stood was seen by the RSS and extremist Hindus as a triumph for Hindutva.

She further said that the RSS had a transnational terror network, actively conducting operations in various countries, including the US, Canada, Australia, the UK and Pakistan. She urged the international community to make concerted efforts to curb the expansion of the RSS terror network.

Mullick mentioned the establishment of the Kashmir Consultative Committee under her leadership, aimed at formulating recommendations on Kashmir issue for the upcoming administration’s consideration.

She also highlighted her collaboration with the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to establish Kashmir cells in universities throughout Pakistan and AJK. She also highlighted the creation of district-level Kashmir committees, designed to raise awareness about the Kashmir issue at the grassroots level.

(WITH INPUT FROM APP)