–PM Imran, Gen Bajwa, NA Opp Leader Shehbaz, PPP chief Bilawal vow to stand by Kashmiri people at all costs
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani politicians and the military chief on Wednesday expressed support for Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination as the nation observed Kashmir Solidarity Day with zeal and vigour.
As India remained under lockdown since Aug, government and opposition leaders were also unanimous in lending their support to the Kashmir cause.
On Aug 5 last year, the Indian government had repealed Article 370 of its constitution, stripping occupied Kashmir of its special status.
In a statement, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that the “unprecedented length” of restrictions imposed in occupied Kashmir “fully exposed the fiction of India’s democracy and its scant regard for basic human norms”.
“The occasion is being observed to reaffirm support for Kashmiris who have been subjected to an inhuman lockdown and communications blockade for six months now,” he added.
In a series of tweets shared, later on, Prime Minister Imran said Kashmirs, the ummah, Pakistan as well as the international community have rejected “India’s travesty of law and justice”.
“India has turned 8 million Kashmiris into prisoners in their own land through the deployment of over 900,000 occupation troops. History has few precedents of such suffocation and violation of the fundamental rights at this scale. Tens of thousands of innocent people have been arbitrarily detained and thousands of young boys abducted and incarcerated at undisclosed locations.
“This is a true manifestation of Indian state-terrorism,” he said, adding that India had been exposed before the world as a “majoritarian and authoritarian polity”.
Additionally, he said that international human rights organisations and international media should be given access to the region to evaluate the human rights situation.
“We urge the international community to play its role in ensuring respect for the fundamental human rights and freedoms of the Kashmiri people and averting grave risks to global peace and security posed by India’s belligerent rhetoric and aggressive action,” Prime Minister Imran said.
He said that Pakistan would always stand shoulder to shoulder with Kashmiris.
“Pakistan will continue its full moral, political and diplomatic support until the Kashmiri people have realised their legitimate right of self-determination in accordance with the United Nations Charter and the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions.”
‘BATTLE OF HOPE AGAINST OVERWHELMING ODDS’:
In his message on the occasion, President Dr Arif Alvi said the nation is expressing solidarity with the people of occupied Kashmir “who have rendered unmatched sacrifices for their legitimate right to self-determination over the course of past seven decades in an indomitable struggle for freedom from oppression”.
QURESHI CALLS ON INTL COMMUNITY TO ‘DO MORE’:
In his message, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi urged the international community to do more for the people of occupied Kashmir “in this time of trial and tribulation”. The foreign minister said that “each additional second on the lockdown clock is a burden on the world’s collective conscience”.
He also urged India to allow a UN fact-finding mission to visit occupied Kashmir and assess the reports of human rights violations in the region.
The Foreign Office also issued an official statement, reiterating to raise voice for Kashmir cause.
GEN BAJWA REITERATES SUPPORT:
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa reiterated unwavering support for the Kashmiri brethren while stressing that Pakistan will continue playing its role to shake the conscience of the international community to raise the voice of Kashmiris.
General Bajwa said reiterated that the occupied land has been turned into jail as millions of Kashmiris are imprisoned in their own homes.
‘PAKISTAN STANDS BY KASHMIRIS’:
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shehbaz Sharif, via a tweet, said: “No amount of brute Indian power has succeeded in silencing brave Kashmiris.”
“The chapters of exemplary courage they are writing to annals of human history will continue to inspire oppressed people […] Pakistan will always stand by its Kashmiri brothers and sisters.”
KASHMIRIS PAID HEAVY TOLL, SAYS MAZARI:
Taking to Twitter, Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari noted that “we have to move beyond the resolution of this conflict for which [generations] of Kashmiris have paid a heavy toll in lives lost, women abused and left ‘half widows’, children attacked, youth incarcerated.”
BILAWAL STRESSES ON IMPLEMENTATION OF UN RESOLUTIONS:
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that the Kashmir issue can only be resolved in accordance with UN resolutions.
“Every city, street and village stands with the people of Kashmir where the lockdown has entered its 185th day. India has always been unable to suppress the Kashmiris’ seven decade-long struggle.”
He added that the idea of marking Kashmir Solidarity Day was first envisioned by Benazir Bhutto, his late mother and former prime minister.
پی پی پی چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو زرداری کا یومِ یکجہتی کشمیر پر پیغام
حقِ خودارادیت کی خاطر بدترین جبر و بربریت کا سامنا کرنے والی کشمیری عوام کو سلام: بلاول بھٹو زرداری
کشمیر کے ہزاروں شہداء کو خراج عقیدت پیش کرتا ہوں: بلاول بھٹو زرداری@BBhuttoZardari#KashmirSolidarityDay
— PPP (@MediaCellPPP) February 5, 2020
