Kashmir Martyrs' Day observed: Pakistan reaffirms solidarity with Kashmiris

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday reaffirmed full solidarity with Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) on the eve of Kashmir Martyrs' Day, and urged the international community to take practical steps to stop India from the continuing brutalisation of the Kashmiri people.

On the occasion of the 89th Youm-e-Shuhada-e-Kashmir (Kashmir Martyrs' Day), the Foreign Office said in a statement that the government and people of Pakistan join Kashmiris on both sides of the LOC and across the globe to pay homage to the 22 innocent and unarmed Kashmiris who stood up for truth and justice against the tyranny of the Dogra force in 1931.

"Their extraordinary courage and sacrifice kindled a valiant struggle for the Kashmiris' right to self-determination that continues to-date. No less brutal than the Dogra force, the Indian occupation forces have martyred hundreds of thousands of Kashmiris and grievously hurt millions of families in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K)," it noted.

Yet, they have failed to break the will of the Kashmiris and weaken their resolve to secure freedom from Indian occupation, it added.

It pointed out that the India's illegal and unilateral actions of 5th August 2019, aimed at erasing the distinct identity of the people of occupied Jammu and Kashmir, have further fortified the Kashmiris' quest for freedom and self-determination and lent even greater poignancy to the Kashmir Martyrs' Day.

In another reprehensible action, it stated that the RSS-BJP government following the Hindutva ideology had scrapped the regional public holiday on Kashmir Martyrs' Day in the IOJ&K this year, which was being observed since 1948.

"Kashmiris in IOJ&K are protesting that it will be the first time that there will be no official guard of honour at the martyrs' graveyard at Nawhatta Srinagar inside the premises of Khawaja Naqashband shrine," it added.

The Foreign Office further stated that Pakistan and the Kashmiris deeply honour the Kashmiri martyrs, who had hallowed the just Kashmiri cause with their supreme sacrifice, and continued to inspire generations.

Carrying on the earlier tradition, a guard of honour was presented to the martyrs today in Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), it added.

While condemning the state-terrorism being perpetrated by Indian occupation forces in the IOJ&K, it stated that Pakistan called upon the international community to take practical steps to stop India from the continuing brutalisation of the Kashmiri people including extra-judicial killings and illegal attempts to change the demographic structure of the IOJ&K.

India must be held accountable for its unspeakable crimes against the Kashmiri people, it added.

"The government and people of Pakistan will continue to stand by Kashmiris till the realization of their inalienable right to self-determination as enshrined in the relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions," the statement added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020