Students stand up for Kashmiris

Scholars highlight atrocities of Indian forces

LAHORE:

People from all walks of life closed ranks to actively participate in events organised across Punjab on Monday to mark the Kashmir Solidarity Day.

The Punjab Transport Company displayed messages at various bus stops in the provincial capital to express solidarity with the Kashmiri people and to highlight ongoing human rights violations in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

According to officials, panaflex were installed at the bus stops on all the main roads of Lahore.

Addressing a seminar organised by the Punjab University Directorate of Student Affairs in collaboration with Kashmiri students, Vice Chancellor Dr Khalid Mahmood stressed the need to strengthen people in the fields of knowledge and technology for the freedom of Kashmir.

PU students from the Indian Occupied Kashmir and Azad Jammu and Kashmir were also present on the occasion.

Dr Mahmood said, "The sacrifices of Kashmiris are eternal and we pay homage to them." He said India had always given a negative message about Kashmiris through its films, to counter which students should learn the skills of film making and script writing. "Our thoughts, way of living and dealings separate us from the non-Muslims but many forces are working to erase this difference," he added.

He said the oppression of Muslims in Occupied Kashmir, Ayudhiya and Delhi under the Modi government had exposed the hidden face of India to the world. Indian Prime Minister Modi's atrocities towards minorities have once again proven the truthfulness of the two-nation theory, he said.

"Like Syed Ali Geelani, Afzal Guru and Burhan Wani, we should keep the yearning for freedom alive in ourselves," he added.

Read: Courage of Kashmiri people under occupation praised

The VC said the United Nations should play a positive role for the freedom of Kashmir.

PU History Department Chairman Dr Mehboob Hussain threw light on the history of the Kashmir issue. He said that at the time of the partition of Punjab, two areas were given to India under a conspiracy. He said Kashmir had become the biggest issue of human rights.

Associate Professor Dr Sardar Asghar Iqbal said, "History tells us that Kashmir was once a superpower, which is suffering from oppression and exploitation today due to wrong decisions and conspiracies."

College of Pharmacy’s Principal Dr Syed Atif Raza said the Pakistani nation is with the Kashmiri people on the moral, legal, political and diplomatic fronts.

Documentaries and tableaus based on atrocities against the Kashmiris were presented by the students.

Earlier, a Kashmir Solidarity Day rally was organised. The students participating in the rally were dressed in Kashmiri clothes and holding placards and banners.

The participants also chanted slogans against India and its government.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Institute of Fashion and Design (PIFD) organised a Kashmir solidarity walk followed by a declamation contest to express unwavering support to the people of IIOJ&K.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 6^th 2024.