Pakistan reaffirms solidarity with Kashmiri people on Kashmir Solidarity Day

Celina Ali

Islamabad: The government and people of Pakistan observed the Kashmir Solidarity Day to express solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their struggle for realization of their right to self-determination.

The President, the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister, in their special messages on the occasion, renewed Pakistan’s unstinting moral, diplomatic and political support to the Kashmir Cause, the Foreign Office said in a statement.

The Foreign Minister addressed letters to the Presidents of the UN Security Council and General Assembly, the UN Secretary General, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the OIC Secretary General to update them on the latest developments in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

In these letters, the Foreign Minister emphasized the need to implement the relevant Security Council resolutions so that the people of Jammu and Kashmir could determine their future through a fair and impartial plebiscite under the UN auspices. He also urged the UN and OIC leadership to play their role in improving the human rights situation in IIOJK and for release of Kashmiri political prisoners and dissenters. In the run up to the Kashmir Solidarity Day, a briefing was organized for Islamabad-based diplomats to apprise them of the situation in IIOJK.

A ‘Solidarity Day Walk’ was held on the Constitution Avenue, during the day, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs up to the Parliament Building. The walk was led by the Ministers for Information, Privatization, Culture, and Religious Affairs. The officers and staff members of the ministry participated in the walk, alongside school children and people from different walks of life. A wide range of other activities, including seminars, webinars, panel discussions and photo exhibitions were organized throughout the country, and at Pakistan’s diplomatic missions around the world.

These activities were aimed at expressing solidarity with the Kashmiri people, highlighting the ongoing human rights violations in IIOJK, and underscoring the grave implications of India’s efforts to turn Kashmiris into a disempowered community in their own land.