(Asghar Ali Mubarak)
Kashmir (TNS) The 5th February is a day of solidarity with the helpless Kashmiris of occupied Kashmir, who have been under illegal occupation by India for the past 76 years. Sustainable peace in South Asia depends on the resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. Until the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is resolved justly in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people, peace in South Asia is not possible.
Pakistan stands in complete solidarity with the Kashmiri people in their struggle for their inalienable right to self-determination. The brave sons and daughters of Jammu and Kashmir have bravely resisted all Indian attempts at oppression. India has failed to suppress the aspirations of the Kashmiri people and the sacrifices of the Kashmiris will be remembered in history.
The international community should pressure India to stop the ongoing human rights violations in occupied Kashmir, withdraw the unilateral and illegal measures of August 5, 2019, and implement the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. Preparations to celebrate Kashmir Solidarity Day on February 5 to express solidarity with the Kashmiris have entered the final stage. In this regard, a detailed review of the preparations to celebrate Kashmir Solidarity Day with full national enthusiasm was taken in the Committee on Kashmir meeting. Chairman Kashmir Committee Rana Muhammad Qasim Noon has said that on February 5, solidarity will be expressed with the Kashmiri people living all over the world, including Pakistan. The Parliamentary Committee of the National Assembly reiterated its strong commitment to celebrate this day.
On the occasion of Kashmir Solidarity Day, an important meeting was held at the Parliament House under the chairmanship of Chairman Kashmir Committee Rana Muhammad Qasim Noon. Members of the National Assembly, senators, political leadership of Azad Kashmir and high officials of relevant institutions attended the meeting.
The Chairman Kashmir Committee has said that a rally will be taken out from the Parliament House on the occasion of Kashmir Solidarity Day, which he will lead himself. Members of Parliament, members of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly and Kashmir Council, representatives of all provinces and Gilgit-Baltistan assemblies, students, media representatives and civil society will be invited to this rally.
The Chairman Kashmir Committee has said that Kashmir is the jugular vein of Pakistan, and Pakistan will continue to fully support the freedom struggle of the Kashmiri people. The solution to the Kashmir issue should be in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.
He termed India’s occupation of occupied Kashmir as a threat to regional peace. All the members present in the meeting appreciated the leadership of the Kashmir Committee and the efforts made by the Chairman Kashmir Committee to highlight the Kashmir issue.
Rana Muhammad Qasim Noon directed the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and other concerned institutions to take special steps to celebrate Kashmir Solidarity Day in a grand manner.
In the meeting, the committee members stressed on highlighting the Kashmir issue and focusing on human rights violations. The committee recommended that seminars and discussions be organized in schools, colleges and universities on February 5 to make the new generation aware of the importance of the Kashmir issue.
The Chairman Kashmir Committee called the role of media, civil society and youth key to highlighting the Kashmir issue at the international level. He said that an international Kashmir conference will be organized after February 5 to further highlight the Kashmir issue before the international community.
It should be noted that the citizens of Pakistan observe Kashmir Solidarity Day every year on February 5. On this day, human chains are formed on the roads connecting Pakistan with Kashmir and other important places, as well as processions and rallies.
Pakistanis and Kashmiris living around the world observe Solidarity Day as a special day.
The history of expressing solidarity with Kashmiris is very old. For the first time, Kashmir Solidarity Day was celebrated all over India in 1931.
After the death of 21 Kashmiris during an unfortunate incident of the political movement against Maharaja Hari, Allama Iqbal called for observing Kashmir Solidarity Day across India on August 14, 1931.
On February 28, 1975, Kashmir Solidarity Day was celebrated on the appeal of Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
The celebration of February 5 as Kashmir Solidarity Day was started in 1990 by former Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami Qazi Hussain Ahmed. At that time, Nawaz Sharif was the Chief Minister of Punjab while Benazir Bhutto was the Prime Minister at the Center.
After Qazi Hussain’s call, both of them supported this call and thus, February 5, 1990, was celebrated for the first time at the official level.
Kashmiris are not being given freedom of expression in Indian-administered Kashmir, due to which they celebrate this day as a show of solidarity with the Kashmiris.
Kashmiris across the Line of Control are waging a practical struggle and we celebrate this day to give them courage and assurance of our support in this practical struggle.
The citizens of Pakistan express their solidarity with the Kashmiris living on the other side of the Line of Control, who are enduring state oppression, and assure them that ‘we will not hesitate to make any sacrifice for them.
Pakistan has made it clear to the international community that Kashmir is not just a border issue between Pakistan and India, but is based on the aspirations of the people of Kashmir.
The Kashmir issue is not just a border issue, the people of Kashmir are connected to this issue, it is a matter of the rights of the people of Kashmir.
We all agree on the legitimate struggle of the Kashmiris, we all recognize the serious human rights violations in occupied Kashmir that have been going on in Kashmir for years and especially in recent years. We all also agree on the bravery of the people of Kashmir, whose third generation has kept the resistance alive.
The culture, faith, history and civilization of the people of Pakistan and Kashmir are one, every Pakistani is strongly committed to the Kashmir issue.
It is Pakistan that is the backbone of the Kashmiri struggle and we will remain united in all circumstances. After being discussed three times in the United Nations Security Council since 2019, the Kashmir issue has once again come to the fore because India has illegally annexed the disputed region, while it has been discussed several times in the United Nations Human Rights Council.
UN Special Rapporteurs have also highlighted the grave human rights violations committed by India in occupied Kashmir and 18 Special Rapporteurs have jointly spoken about Indian atrocities in the region.
The UN Human Rights Commissioner has issued reports twice and has spoken on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir 5 times in the Human Rights Council.
It may be recalled that in the previous media briefing at the Foreign Office, senior Pakistani journalist Asghar Ali Mubarak asked a question regarding the Kashmir dispute. Donald Trump had once said that he would play the role of a mediator between Pakistan and India on Kashmir, as Pakistan has received a message of mediation from Donald Trump during his last term in office, will you accept it in terms of normalizing relations between Pakistan and India?
The Foreign Office spokesperson replied that our position on the Kashmir issue is very clear and as you yourself have referred to the increasing atrocities in Indian occupied Kashmir in your question, which is open and clear to the world. And whoever tries to resolve this issue, we will be ready to cooperate. We welcome any effort to resolve this. Peace and development in the region is possible only by resolving this issue in accordance with the will of the Kashmiri people and the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.
It should be noted that on February 5, the entire nation from Karachi to Khyber will once again celebrate Kashmir Solidarity Day from Karachi to Khyber to express solidarity with the Kashmiris in their struggle against India’s illegal occupation.
Special events and rallies will be held across the country to express solidarity with the Kashmiris on Kashmir Solidarity Day. Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir Chaudhry Anwarul Haq has said that February 5 will be celebrated as Kashmir Solidarity Day in a grand manner, all preparations have been completed in this regard.
Addressing the cabinet meeting, the Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir said that Pakistan has always strongly advocated for the Kashmiris at international forums, and the protection of the lives and property of the people is the top priority of the current government. Every year on February 5, the people of Pakistan celebrate Solidarity Day with the Kashmiris.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have called on the international community to stop India from violating human rights in Kashmir. In his message, President Asif Ali Zardari said that the resolution on the right of Kashmiris to self-determination was passed on January 5, 1949, India has been depriving the Kashmiri people of their rights for 7 decades. He said that India is changing the demographic and political structure of occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the international community is responsible for giving the Kashmiris the right to self-determination,
The international community should stop India from violating human rights in Kashmir, Pakistan will continue to provide political, diplomatic and moral support to the Kashmiri people. On the other hand, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that the Kashmiri people have not been able to exercise their right to self-determination for seven decades. The international community, including the United Nations, should fulfill its promises and take such steps that will enable the Kashmiri people to exercise their right to self-determination.
Kashmir Solidarity Day was first observed in Pakistan at the official level in 1990, which has now become a tradition. Pakistan has always strongly supported the right of Kashmiris to self-determination at the political, moral and diplomatic levels. Pakistan’s principled position is that the Kashmir issue should be resolved in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiri people and under the United Nations resolutions. Pakistan has long supported the legitimate struggle of the freedom-loving people of Jammu and Kashmir, which is illegally occupied by India, which is a manifestation of the fact that despite the change of governments in Pakistan, the entire nation’s position on the Kashmir issue is one.
