ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Friday observed ‘Kashmir Hour’ from 12:00 PM to 12:30 PM in the wake of India’s unprecedented lockdown, human rights’ violations and atrocities in the disputed Himalayan region.
The Kashmir Hour was observed on the appeal of Prime Minister Imran Khan to hold an event every week till September 27 to show solidarity with the Kashmiri people.
Sirens were blared, traffic was halted and the national anthems of Pakistan and Kashmir were played to mark the ‘Kashmir Hour’ after a comprehensive plan was formulated by all deputy commissioners of the country for staging demonstrations against India Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Hindu nationalist Indian government’s illegal actions and gross violations of human rights in Kashmir.
The premier led the demonstration. The provincial chief ministers, the governments of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan headed the demonstrations in their respective areas.
While addressing the participants of ‘Kashmir Hour’ protest rally outside Prime Minister House in Islamabad, PM Imran Khan said that Pakistani nation is standing with the people of occupied Kashmir until its freedom from India.
In his speech, the premier said that eight million Kashmiris are facing fascist India’s curfew from past 26 days with shortages of medicines and food. The time has come to free the valley from continuing Indian atrocities in the valley, he stated.
Imran Khan said Modi has occupied the Kashmir just like Nazis in Germany. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), inspired by Nazis, believes in not giving equal rights to the Muslims, he continued.
“They think Muslims should be taught a lesson that they are not equal citizens. Today, the whole world is seeing what is happening in Kashmir,” he asserted.
The PM said that if India plans to take any action in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, “every brick will be countered with a stone.”
President Dr Arif Alvi also addressed the participants of ‘Kashmir Hour’ rally on Friday and reiterated that Pakistan will support the people of India-occupied Kashmir (IoK) until they get their freedom.
The president affirmed that the entire nation is standing with the Kashmiris, and stressed that the whole Muslim world needs to raise voice for them against the Indian atrocities in the occupied valley.
The rights of the Kashmiris cannot be violated, and they will definitely get freedom if we stand together for them, Dr Arif Alvi declared. The president added he strongly believes that Kashmir will be freed during our lives.
Dr Arif Alvi said Pakistan will answer Indian propaganda at every forum. He mentioned that Muslims in India are facing injustice in their own country. The president also stressed that we need a stronger Pakistan with a powerful economy to raise voice for Kashmir more effectively.
Prime Minister Imran will address the UN General Assembly on Sept 27 to highlight Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir.
Tensions have soared between the nuclear-armed rivals in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s illegal move to strip India-occupied Kashmir of its autonomy and bring it under Delhi’s direct rule, a private television channel reported.
The area is currently in its fourth week of a wide-ranging communications blackout with severe restrictions on movement. Thousands of people have been incarcerated in the crackdown.
In the weeks since the move, Imran Khan has launched a wide-ranging diplomatic offensive to counter Delhi, while vowing to fight India “until the end” if attacked and making occasional references to the possible outbreak of nuclear conflict.
Kashmir has been divided between the two countries since independence, and has been the spark for two major wars and countless clashes between the arch-rivals.
In February, the rivals again came close to all-out war, after a militant attack in Indian-held Kashmir, igniting tit-for-tat air strikes – the first between nuclear-armed nations. Pakistan downed two Indian jets in an aerial dogfight of February 27 and captured an Indian pilot
alive who was later released in a goodwill gesture.
The protests in Pakistan came a day after its military announced the testing of a surface-to-surface ballistic missile, with the army’s spokesman saying the weapon was “capable of delivering multiple types of warheads”. – NNI