By News Desk
ISLAMABAD: Kashmir Solidarity Day will be commemorated today (Friday) across the country with a renewed commitment to bring the Kashmir Problem to the limelight amid the unprecedented and brutal military siege of Indian-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ & K).
The event will be organized in a new way to reveal the tattered and embarrassed face of the so-called Indian democracy prevailing in Delhi which tore apart IOJ & K’s special status on 05 August 2019. This was first observed in 1991 when the entire country’s leadership politics were unanimously expressed solidarity with the Kashmiri brothers in support of their inalienable right to self-determination and liberation from Indian occupation.
India’s brutal occupying forces have unleashed the worst human rights abuses and violence against innocent Kashmiri people after taking about 8 million people hostage under military siege. To express solidarity and raise the morale of Kashmiris, Prime Minister Imran Khan will address a public meeting in Kotli in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). One minute of silence will be observed at 10:00 am across the country. Solidarity streets will be arranged in Islamabad, Muzaffarabad, Gilgit and four provincial headquarters.
A human chain will be formed at the Kohala, Mangla, Holar, and Azad Pattan points that connect Pakistan and AJK. In the federal capital, the Muslim Institute will organize a Kashmiri Solidarity trip from China Chowk to the National Press Club at 10:00 a.m. Apart from various parts of Pakistan, Kashmiri solidarity rallies will also be held in other parts of the world.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) Moeed Yusuf will launch an autograph and documentary campaign highlighting the Indian atrocities at IOJ&K at 10:30 am. Information Minister Shibli Faraz will inaugurate a photo and painting exhibition at Lok Virsa at 11.00.
In Gilgit-Baltistan, protest rallies will be held in all districts of the three divisions to condemn state terrorism and the brutality of the Modi government towards the Kashmiri people.
The Pakistani government has declared a public holiday in conjunction with Kashmir Solidarity Day today.
At IOJ & K, a poster with a picture of Prime Minister Imran Khan appeared on the eve of Kashmir Solidarity Day.
According to the Kashmir Media Service, the posters displayed by Jammu and the Kashmir Liberation Alliance thanked the people as well as the Government of Pakistan, for showing solidarity with Kashmiris on a daily basis.
The poster reads: “Thank you Pakistan, thank you Imran Khan for raising the Kashmir issue effectively on all global platforms.”
The posters reiterated that Kashmiris will continue their struggle until the achievement of the goal of freedom.
President Arif Alvi said in his message on the occasion that the people of Pakistan joined in commemorating Kashmir Solidarity Day, paying rich tribute to Kashmiris for their resilience in their just struggle for the right to self-determination.
“Self-determination is one of the fundamental rights codified in all major human rights instruments and the Charter of the United Nations. The denial of rights and the conquest of Kashmir at IOJ & K is a denial of human dignity, “he said.
He called on the international community to hold India accountable for all its wrongs and crimes against humanity.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the worst human rights violations perpetrated by Indian security forces at IOJ & K challenged the collective conscience of humanity.
Speaking here on the eve of Kashmir Solidarity Day, Qureshi said the international community’s response to the humanitarian crisis at IOJ & K was insufficient as there was not enough response until India was held fully accountable for its serious crimes against the Kashmiri people.
He said the denial of Kashmiris’ legitimate right to self-determination was an insult to the international community.
“While significant, the response is, however, insufficient – not sufficient because there is not enough response until India is held fully accountable for its serious crimes against the people of Kashmir. This is the wish of the international community that is represented through various UNSC resolutions on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute – a wish that India continues to violate, ”said Qureshi.
However, he acknowledged that the world community has responded to the humanitarian crisis at IOJ & K in various ways.
Recent reports by the EU DisinfoLab on India’s global disinformation campaign against Pakistan have further validated Pakistan’s position on India’s evil design, he added.
In this regard, the condemnation by multilateral and human rights organizations, the international media, civil society and parliaments around the world is testament to the currency and urgency of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. India cannot pretend that what is happening in this internationally recognized disputed area is an ‘internal problem’, ”he explained.
He said no expression of solidarity with Kashmir is complete unless everyone ensures that their basic rights and freedoms are not violated on a daily basis by Indian occupation forces.
Quoting the Noble winner Elie Wiesel who said, “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, not the victim. Silence encouraging the torturers, never be tortured, ”said Qureshi, now is the time to take sides.
“Today, India is completely open before the international community because it has seized the fundamental freedoms of the Kashmiri people,” said the foreign minister adding that India’s human rights abuses had removed its facade to a so-called ‘democracy. ‘