A ceremony was held at the Pakistan Embassy in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on Friday to express solidarity with the people of the Indian-held Kashmir.
The ceremony commenced with the recitation of Holy Quran, followed by playing of anthems of Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Community members from all walks of life including embassy officials participated in the event.
Addressing the participants, Ambassador Imran Haider highlighted the Jammu and Kashmir dispute and the atrocities being perpetrated by the Indian occupying forces in the valley. He highlighted the illegal and unilateral actions of the Indian government to change the demography of the disputed territory. He added that such steps of India were in contravention of the UNSC resolutions and a breach of the Simla Agreement.
“The 26 days of curfew in Kashmir has put millions of Kashmiris in the largest prison in the world. There is complete media blackout and Kashmiri people are in a state of imprisonment and siege,” the ambassador said. “Despite these draconian steps, all Indian attempts to alter Jammu and Kashmir dispute, subjugate Kashmiri people and declare Kashmir dispute as an ‘internal matter’ have miserably failed,” he noted. “The Jammu & Kashmir dispute came under discussion in the UNSC after over five decades, he said, adding that the voice of the people of Kashmir cannot be stifled or buried.
In the end, a special documentary on the plight of the Kashmiris in the occupied valley was played for the audience.