Pakistan to observe Kashmir Solidarity Day today, highlighting rights abuses in IIOJK

Pakistan will observe Kashmir Solidarity Day on Thursday with rallies and events planned across the country to reaffirm support for Kashmiris in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

Demonstrations and solidarity events would be held in cities and towns from Karachi to Chitral and from Muzaffarabad to Gwadar. Day would be used to highlight alleged human rights abuses in IIOJK.

Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs Amir Muqam on Wednesday said that Pakistan would observe Kashmir Solidarity Day on February 5 with coordinated activities across the country, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) to reaffirm support for Kashmiris and highlight rights abuses.

Speaking at a news conference alongside leaders of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Muqam paid tribute to Kashmiris who had faced imprisonment, the destruction of homes and the loss of relatives, but remained steadfast. He said Pakistan stood with those resisting and those who had “laid down their lives”, adding that Kashmiris were not alone.

Read More: Kashmiris mark Oct 27 as Black Day

Muqam added that a one-minute silence would be observed at 10am nationwide, including in AJK and G-B. He added that letters had been sent to the chief ministers of all four provinces asking them to personally lead Solidarity Day events to project a unified national stance. He said Pakistan would keep raising the issue until it is resolved in line with United Nations Security Council resolutions, adding that “the pain of Kashmiris is Pakistan’s pain”.

Separately, the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad held a seminar marking Kashmir Solidarity Day, urging the international community to move beyond statements of concern and take concrete diplomatic and legal steps to resolve the dispute in accordance with UN resolutions and the aspirations of Kashmiris.

At the seminar, Mushaal Hussein Malik - the wife of imprisoned Kashmiri leader Yasin Malik - said the observance was “not merely symbolic” and amounted to a reminder of what she called the world’s moral responsibility towards Kashmiris.

She said Kashmir remained one of the longest-standing unresolved disputes on the UN agenda and criticised India’s policies in IIOJK, alleging systematic rights abuses, militarisation and attempts to suppress Kashmiri identity and political resistance.

Also Read: Pakistan observes Kashmir Black Day to protest Indian occupation of IIOJK

In a video message, Altaf Hussain Wani, senior vice chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir National Front, said February 5 carried special significance because it amplifies Kashmiri voices, which he said were being suppressed.

He said political leaders in IIOJK had been jailed and grave rights abuses continued, including torture, extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.

Also commenting on the day, Professor Dr Khurshid Ahmed of the International Relations Department at University of Peshawar told Associated Press of Pakistan that India was disregarding international law and UN Security Council resolutions, and committing rights violations in the disputed region.

He said Indian forces in the occupied territory had “broken all records of atrocities” and “unleashed terror” on civilians, but had failed to crush what he described as Kashmiris’ legitimate freedom struggle despite 79 years of repression and alleged human rights abuses.