Azad Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday observed Youm-e-Istehsal-e-Kashmir to mark seven years since India revoked the special constitutional status of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), with rallies, protest demonstrations and public gatherings held across the region.
The main event was held in Muzaffarabad, where participants took out a protest rally and chanted slogans against India. Demonstrators also set an Indian flag on fire during the protest.
Similar programmes, including rallies, protest gatherings and walks, were organised in Neelum, Jhelum Valley, Bagh, Haveli, Poonch, Sudhnoti, Kotli, Mirpur and Bhimber by political, religious and social organisations.
The participants expressed solidarity with the people of IIOJK and condemned India's August 5, 2019, decision to revoke the region's special status. They called on the international community to play an effective role in securing the right to self-determination for the Kashmiri people.
Addressing the main gathering, the speakers said India's decision was an attempt to deprive the Kashmiri people of their political, constitutional and fundamental rights.
READ: Youm-e-Istehsal: Civil, military leadership reaffirm support for Kashmiris in IIOJK, call for UN-backed resolution
They maintained that India could not suppress the voice of the Kashmiri people through force and urged the international community to take notice of alleged human rights violations in IIOJK.
The speakers also called for a resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.
Rallies and protest gatherings were also held in different parts of Neelum, Jhelum Valley, Bagh, Haveli, and Dhirkot. Political and social organisations organised rallies in Kotli and Mirpur, while the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) organised a programme followed by a rally in Bhimber.
Addressing the PML-N event at the party's district secretariat in Bhimber, Chaudhry Zaheeruddin Babar, Chaudhry Jameel Sultan, Chaudhry Abrarul Haq Advocate, Chaudhry Umar Saeed and Bhimber Municipal Committee Chairman Chaudhry Altaf Ibrahim said the Kashmiri people's struggle would ultimately reach its logical conclusion.
They urged the international community to take notice of what they described as Indian atrocities in IIOJK and play its role in enabling the Kashmiri people to exercise their right to self-determination.
The event in Bhimber concluded with a rally through the city, with party workers participating on foot, motorcycles and vehicles. Participants chanted slogans including “Pakistan Zindabad”, “Kashmir Banega Pakistan”, “Azad Kashmir Zindabad” and “Pak Army Zindabad”.
The programmes held across AJK reaffirmed AJK's political, moral and diplomatic support for the people of IIOJK and pledged to continue highlighting the Kashmir dispute at the international level.
Meanwhile, PML-N AJK President Shah Ghulam Qadir said the people of AJK stood firmly with their brethren in IIOJK and would continue to extend political, moral and diplomatic support to their just struggle.
He added that India's August 5, 2019, decision had further exposed what he described as its policy of suppressing the political and fundamental rights of Kashmiris. He urged the international community, particularly the United Nations, to fulfil its responsibility towards resolving the Kashmir dispute and ensuring the IIOJK people's right to self-determination. He said the Kashmir issue could not be settled through force or unilateral measures.
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