The students of several educational institutions enthralled audience on Friday, when they expressed their solidarity with the people of Kashmir through their wonderful performances at the Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA) auditorium.
The colourful programme was a part of the five-day celebrations to mark the ‘Kashmir Day’ (February 5), organised by the PNCA in association with the ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir Council.
The students of over 15 schools and colleges participated to expose the atrocities of Indian armed forces against the Kashmiris to snub their right of self-determination. The students demonstrated several colourful programmes, including tableau, folk songs, dance, stage play, along with the display of Kasmiri architecture and crafts. Puppet shows were also performed at the occasion to highlight the plight of Kashmiris and raise the issue of human rights violation.
The Kashmir Solidarity Day is observed on February 5 each year, since 1990 in Pakistan, as a day of protest against the Indian occupation of a part of Kashmir. It is a national holiday in Pakistan. Pakistan considers Kashmir as the core issue between India and Pakistan, leading to three wars and allocation of a major portion of their annual budgets to defence expenditure. The schools and colleges that participated in the event included FG Girls School G-9/2, FG Comprehensive School F-6/1, FG Girls College F-7/4, Jinnah Preparatory School, Rawalpindi, Divisional Public School, Roots School, Ali Trust School and Rising School.
Talking to Pakistan Today, PNCA Media Director Waqar Hanif said that the PNCA, in collaboration with the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir Council, has organised the five-day event to express solidarity with the people of Kashmir. “People living in Kashmir should not think that they are alone,” he said. He said that main event in this regard would be held on February 4 (today), where the artists from across the country, including Rukhsana Murtaza, Bano Rehmat, Sher Ali, Sehar, Basit Iftikhar and others, would pay tribute to the martyrs of Kashmir and express solidarity with the Kashmiris.
