Kashmir Solidarity Day being observed today

• One-minute silence will be observed to honour Kashmiri martyrs

• Mamnoon, PM Abbasi urges world to resolve Kashmir issue

ISLAMABAD: Kashmir Solidarity Day will be observed across the country on Monday (today) to express solidarity with the Kashmiri people who are struggling for their right to self-determination under the United Nations resolutions.

The day will dawn with special prayers in mosques for progress and prosperity of Pakistan, eternal peace of martyrs of Kashmir’s struggle and liberation of all occupied territories including Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) and Palestine.

A holiday has been announced in Pakistan, including in Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK). A one-minute silence will be observed at 10am to honour the Kashmiri martyrs. Human chains at Kohala Bridge, Mangla Bridge and other points linking Pakistan and Azad Jammu Kashmir will be formed.

Special cultural programmes and festivals will also be held to promote Kashmiri culture and tradition while photographic exhibitions will be arranged depicting the atrocities committed by Indian forces against the Kashmiris.

In his message on the Kashmir Solidarity Day, President Mamnoon Hussain said that the dream of peace and prosperity in the region would remain elusive without resolving the Kashmir issue. He called upon the world community to play its due role in seeking an end to the brutalities, violation of human rights and the reign of terror unleashed by Indian forces.

He also sought the world community’s role to force India to fulfill the promises it made with the Kashmiri people and international community 70 years ago. On the day, he said that Pakistan reiterates its unwavering political, moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people in their struggle for the realisation of the right to self-determination in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions.

The President’s House would also host the main ceremony of the day to be attended by the leadership from all political parties of Pakistan and Kashmiri representatives. President Mamnoon would address the ceremony that would be a reflection of the national unity to express solidarity with the Kashmiri brethren.

In his separate message, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that the people and government of Pakistan reaffirm their continued unflinching moral, diplomatic and political support to the oppressed Kashmiri people in their legitimate struggle in the face of increasing Indian brutalities and gross human rights violations.

“Pakistan calls upon the international community to urge India to respect the human rights charter, put an immediate end to the rights violations of innocent Kashmiris and ensure expedited resolution of the Kashmir issue line with the UNSC resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. “This is essential for regional peace and development,” he said.

Prime Minister Abbasi observed that even after the passage of more than seven decades, the Kashmiri people had been deprived of the fundamental right to self-determination in stark contradiction to the promise made to them by the international community through the UN Security Council resolutions. Since July 2016, Indian atrocities had resulted in the killings of hundreds of innocent Kashmiris and injuring over 20,000.

The unprecedented, inhuman use of pellet guns blinded more than 200 people, including women and young children depriving them of any chance of leading fulfilling lives, he added. The prime minister said that the Hurriyat leaders were being harassed on trumped-up charges. “India is condoning the use of human shields in Kashmir, which finds no parallel in today’s world and reflects its practice of using brute force to suppress innocent people,” he added.