Kashmir Solidarity Day to be observed on Monday

ISLAMABAD: The entire nation will observe the Kashmir Solidarity Day on February 5 (Monday) with a renewed commitment to support the just struggle of Kashmiris for their inalienable right to self-determination, as enshrined in the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

The people and the Government of Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir observe the Kashmir Solidarity Day every year not only to renew their love and affection with the people of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K) but also to reiterate their commitment and dedication to the liberation of occupied Kashmir from Indian subjugation.

People from different walks of life, including doctors, lawyers, social activists, students, and others, will hold rallies and demonstrations, forming human chains across the country to infuse new spirits in the Kashmiris, who have been fighting for their freedom, the official news agency reported.

All Pakistani missions abroad will organise seminars and photo exhibitions to draw the world’s attention towards the worst form of subjugation and human rights violations committed by India in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K).

The national media, both electronic and print, will air special programs and print special supplements to highlight the significance of the Kashmir Solidarity Day and the decades-long struggle of Kashmiri people against the illegal Indian occupation.

Banners highlighting the plight of innocent Kashmiris have been put on display across the country, including airports, railway stations, and national highways.

Observance of this day is also aimed at highlighting the long-standing unsettled dispute of Jammu and Kashmir internationally and apprising the people of occupied Kashmir that they are not alone in this hour of trial and turmoil, as the people of Pakistan and AJKashmir are wholeheartedly with them.

The hearts of the people of Pakistan and Kashmir beat in unison and Pakistan will continue full moral, political, and diplomatic support to the people of Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir in their just and principled struggle for freedom until it reaches its logical end.

For more than seven decades, it has been a battle of hope against overwhelming odds, courage against fear, and sacrifice against tyranny. But through all of it, the Kashmiri people have persisted and stood firm in the face of the continuing Indian campaign of brutalisation, which has used every inhuman tactic and draconian law to perpetuate the illegal occupation in IIOJ&K.

India has kept a major part of the internationally acknowledged disputed Himalayan Jammu and Kashmir state in her illegal and forced occupation since October 27, 1947, against the aspirations of the people of Kashmir.

India is using state terrorism against the Kashmiris, including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions, fake encounters, and staged cordon-and-search operations. Over 900,000 Indian occupation forces have turned IIOJ&K into an open prison, but the desperation of the RSS-BJP dispensation to control the indigenous Kashmiri movement has completely run aground.

Jammu and Kashmir’s dispute is one of the oldest pending items on the agenda of the UN Security Council. The dispute remains unresolved due to India’s obstinate refusal to honour its commitments and its disrespect for fundamental human rights and international law.

India’s illegal and unilateral actions of August 5, 2019, are also in blatant violation of international law, including the UN Charter, the 4th Geneva Convention, and the relevant UN Security Council resolutions stipulating that the final disposition of the state of Jammu and Kashmir would be made in accordance with the will of the people expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite conducted under the auspices of the United Nations.