ISLAMABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry on Wednesday said the nation would mark February 5 as Kashmir day in an impressive manner to express solidarity with the people of occupied Kashmir and expose the “ugly face” of New Delhi to the world.
In a statement, he said: “We have been marking February 5 as Kashmir Day for the last three decades and [this time] the entire nation would be mobilised against Indian oppression in the light of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision and leadership.”
Chaudhry said that our mothers and sisters in occupied Kashmir were rendering sacrifices and it was, therefore, our responsibility to take part in the public gatherings in connection with Kashmir Day.
He said the workers and leaders of all the political parties of AJK would also participate in Kashmir Day public gatherings and rallies.
The president further said that occupied Kashmir has become a military cantonment due to the presence of over one million troops and the people are facing a dire human rights situation amid Indian oppression and barbarism.
Therefore, there is a need to show solidarity with the people of occupied Kashmir by holding mass demonstrations and rallies, just as we do every year, he added.
‘UNFLINCHING SUPPORT’
Meanwhile, All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leader Syed Mushtaq Gilani said the people of occupied Kashmir would always remember the unwavering support Pakistan and its people extended to the cause.
“We will always remember the assistance Pakistan has been extending to the people of Kashmir at all forums. We acknowledge the way Pakistan highlighted the Kashmir issue, becoming the voice of the innocent and oppressed people of Kashmir,” he told the Associated Press of Pakistan.
Every year on February 5, people residing across the Line of Control (LoC) and in all parts of the world express solidarity with the region, reminding the rights bodies of their lawful and moral obligation of ensuring the legitimate right to self-determination to the people of Kashmir, Gilani said.
He said people would never forget the unflinching support of Pakistan and its efforts in resolving the Kashmir dispute in line with the resolutions passed by the United Nations Security Council and as per the wishes of the people of Kashmir.
Acknowledging the measures taken by Pakistan after India’s illegal actions of August 5, 2019, Gilani said the ugly face of India and its so-called claim of being a secular state had fully been exposed before the entire world.
“Now, it is the prime responsibility of the international community, especially the influential nations, to come forward and play their due role in giving the people of Kashmir their legitimate right of self-determination which has been denied since 1947,” he said.
He said the people of occupied Kashmir were facing the worst-ever suppression and atrocities at the hands of occupation forces and the fascist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi which stripped the territory of its special status.
The APHC leader thanked Pakistan, its people and the media for highlighting the plight of the people of Kashmir at the international level and keeping the issue alive, considering it their “top priority”.
