Pakistan Today

Kashmiris’ blood will not go in vain, PM, army chief vow

 

 

As Kashmiris living on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) and across the world observed the 86th Kashmir Martyrs Day on Wednesday with protest rallies against India’s illegitimate rule over Jammu and Kashmir, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Army chief General Raheel Sharif in separate statements said that the voice and struggle of the people of Indian occupied Kashmir cannot be suppressed through the use of brutal force and human rights abuses and the world powers should take notice of Indian aggression against the innocent Kashmiris.

Prime Minister Nawaz also directed his party’s Azad Kashmir chapter to observe Friday (July 15) as ‘Condemnation Day’ against Indian brutalities in Held Kashmir and to express solidarity with the Kashmiri martyrs.

Earlier talking to Chairman of the Parliament’s Special Committee on Kashmir Maulana Fazlur Rehman at Raiwind, PM Nawaz said the government and people of Pakistan respect the sentiments of their Kashmiri brethren and will continue to support the Kashmir cause at every international forum.

He said the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute was only possible through realisation of the right to self-determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir according to the UNSC resolutions by holding a fair and impartial plebiscite under the United Nations.

The meeting reiterated the condemnation of the killing of Kashmiri freedom leader Burhan Wani and many other civilians by the Indian military and paramilitary forces.

Rehman conveyed the sentiments of the Kashmiri leadership and people for Pakistan and said that the Kashmiri leadership looks towards Pakistan in difficult times.

Rehman, who is also the chief of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI), apprised the PM on his recent talks with the Kashmiri leadership over the human rights violations by Indian military and paramilitary forces in Jammu and Kashmir.

GEN RAHEEL DRAWS WORLD’S ATTENTION TO IHK:

Meanwhile, at a meeting of the army’s top brass at the General Headquarters on Wednesday, Army chief Gen Raheel Sharif reiterated that the world needs to recognise aspirations of the Kashmiri people, their struggle for freedom and help resolve the long standing dispute for lasting amity in Kashmir and to promote enduring peace in the region.

External security situation was comprehensively discussed with particular emphasis on the situation in Afghanistan.

To scrutinise cross border movement and to ensure strict check on militants’ movement, the forum reviewed progress on measures being taken for effective border management.

During the monthly forum, the army chief also praised the relentless efforts of the intelligence and law enforcement agencies in ensuring peace and security during Eid in the face of numerous threats.

KASHMIR MARTYRS DAY OBSERVED:

Also, Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) observed the 86th Martyrs Day as Indian security forces arrested All Parties Hurriyet Conference Chairman Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq in Hyderpora area of Srinagar when they defied curfew and tried to march towards Naqashband Sahib area in the city.

Ali Geelani and Hurriyet leaders Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik had jointly given a call for the march towards Martyrs’ Graveyard at Naqashband Sahib to pay tribute to the martyrs of July 13, 1931.

Despite curfew, Syed Ali Gilani and Mirwaiz came out of their residence in Srinagar and started to march towards the Martyrs’ Graveyard along with scores of their associates. When they reached the main Airport Road, Indian police swung into action and detained the APHC chairman and many others and shifted them to Humhama Police Station.

It was on this day in 1931 when the troops of Dogra Maharaja killed 22 Kashmiris, one after the other, outside the Central Jail in Srinagar. They had gathered in the jail premises to attend the court proceedings against one, Abdul Qadeer, who had asked the Kashmiri people to defy the Dogra rule.

There was a state holiday in Azad Kashmir on this occasion.

Special meetings including seminars and symposiums were held to pay tributes to Kashmiri martyrs, followed by protest rallies and demonstrations against India.

Public meetings were held in all major cities of Azad Kashmir, including Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Kotli, Bagh, Rawalakot, Sudhanoti, Bhimber and Neelam valley and all the other small and major towns and cities to mark the day.

On the fifth straight day of violence, a complete strike was observed across the valley whereas the Indian authorities had imposed a curfew in order to prevent the protests.

Indian-held Kashmir’s main hospital struggled to treat hundreds of patients wounded in four days of clashes, as medics warned that many could lose their eyesight from shotgun injuries.

While there were fresh clashes Tuesday, the violence was on a much smaller scale than before. Two people died in the hospital from injuries they had sustained earlier, raising the toll to 34.

UPTICK IN VIOLENCE:

The death of 22-year-old Wani, a poster boy for the region’s biggest separatist group, has sparked the deadliest clashes in occupied Kashmir since 2010 when massive demonstrations were held against Indian rule.

A commander of pro-independence militant group Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), Wani was killed along with two other separatists during a brief gun battle with the Indian government forces.

Wani joined the HM group at the age of just 15, and was viewed as a hero by many in Kashmir. The state’s former chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted after his death that he had become the “new icon of Kashmir’s disaffected”.

Witnesses said tens of thousands attended his funeral despite a curfew imposed by Indian authorities, chanting independence slogans and firing pistol shots in his honour.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called an emergency meeting to discuss escalating violence in India-held Kashmir amid anti-India protests that have left at least 30 people dead and hundreds injured in clashes with authorities.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office has also condemned the violence in Indian-held Kashmir.

HM is one of several groups that for decades have been fighting around half a million Indian troops deployed in the region, calling for independence for Kashmir or a merger with Pakistan.

 

 

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