Reiterating Pakistan’s unwavering political, diplomatic and moral support for the people of Kashmir in their just struggle for the right of self-determination, President Dr Arif Alvi Tuesday demanded India to immediately release all political prisoners in the occupied valley and allow freedom of speech and movement.
Addressing a special session of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly on the occasion of Kashmir Solidarity Day, Alvi urged India to halt use of firearms including the pallet guns against the innocent Kashmiri people in the occupied valley. He called for withdrawal of aggressive black laws and urged India to allow the Kashmiri leadership to travel abroad so that they can be able to freely present their case and point of view before the international community.
The president demanded that the Indian government give access to the international human rights organizations to the occupied valley and open up the communication links for international and social media networks.
The special session of AJK Legislative Assembly was also addressed by AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider, Speaker Shah Ghulam Qadir and leaders of various political parties in the Azad Kashmir Assembly. For the first time, Gilgit Baltistan Chief Minister Hafiz Hafeez-ur-Rehman and members of GB cabinet also attended the special session.
The president said the people and all political parties in Pakistan were united on the issue of Kashmir and firmly stood behind their Kashmiri brethren in their just struggle for their right of self-determination, which was also recognized by the international community through UNSC resolutions. He lauded the courage and sacrifices of the Kashmiri people including men, women and youth in the ongoing freedom struggle and said their sacrifices would not go in vein and they would achieve their goal of freedom.
President Alvi said the people and government of Pakistan have been observing the Kashmir Solidarity Day for the last 20 years to express their support for the Kashmiri brethren in their just struggle. He said the Indian-held Kashmir belonged to Kashmiris and they had all the right to decide about the future of the region. He said India cannot succeed in suppressing the innocent people of Kashmir through the unprecedented human rights violations and atrocities being committed and unleashed by its security forces in the occupied valley.
“The freedom spirit of any nation cannot be suppressed by force,” he said, and mentioned the freedom struggle and sacrifices of Palestinians. “The more India will suppress the freedom spirit, struggle and desire of Kashmiri people, the more it will rise,” he remarked.
Tracing the conspiracy hatched against the people of Kashmir and Pakistan in history at the time of division of the Indian sub-continent, the president mentioned illegal inclusion of Muslim majority areas of Gurdas Pur in the case of Kashmir and Asam in the case of East Pakistan through Boundary Commission. He also referred to the illegal agreement between the Indian government and Dogra rule in Kashmir and said the people of Kashmir were ‘sold out’.
The president said Pakistan wanted a just and peaceful resolution of Kashmir dispute but regretted that India despite agreeing including in the Simla agreement to hold talks, always backtracked from dialogue through lame excuses and continued with its atrocities in the occupied valley. He regretted that the Indian government also continues to use the Kashmir dispute for its domestic politicking and for securing the Hindu vote in elections.
The president referred to the recent UN human rights report about the situation in Held Kashmir and said India can no more hide its aggressions and atrocities in occupied valley from the eyes of world community. He said India will also not succeed in its efforts to change the demography of Kashmir by settling the Hindu community in the occupied region like that of Israel which had failed to do the same.
The president referred to the hand of friendship extended by Prime Minister Imran Khan to India after he came to power in a bid to resolve the outstanding disputes through dialogue, but regretted the Indian negative attitude in this respect. He highlighted the role of UN in resolving the Kashmir dispute said he also took the matter with the president of UN General Assembly during her recent visit to Pakistan and asked for sending a fact finding mission to the occupied valley.
The president assured the people and elected representatives of Azad Kashmir that the government of Pakistan will continue to extend its all-out support for the development and progress of AJK and making it a model region.
Prime Minister Imran Khan urged all the freedom loving people in the world to stand with the Kashmiris in their demand for freedom from the Indian occupation.
On his Twitter account, the prime minister said, “The brutality of Indian security forces in Occupied Kashmir has rallied all Kashmiris together in their demand for freedom from Indian Occupation.” “The Indian army is not fighting insurgents but an entire people in IOK. All freedom loving ppl (people) in the world must stand with Kashmiris,” he added.
The Kashmir Solidarity Day was observed on Tuesday across Pakistan to express solidarity with the people of Kashmir who are fighting for freedom and for their inalienable right to self-determination under UN resolutions.
A public holiday was announced in Pakistan. A number of rallies, seminars and public meetings were organised in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and other cities to show solidarity with the Kashmiri people. Human chains were formed at Kohala, Mangla, Holar and Azad Pattan points linking Pakistan and Azad Kashmir. People belonging to different strata of society also formed a human chain at Islamabad’s D-Chowk to express solidarity with their oppressed Kashmiri brethren. A one-minute silence was observed at 10am to pay homage to the martyrs of the liberation struggle of occupied Kashmir.
Published in Daily Times, February 6th 2019.
