Kashmir Solidarity Day to be observed on Monday

ISLAMABAD: Kashmir Solidarity Day will be observed on Monday to express wholehearted support of Pakistani nation to the just struggle of Kashmiri people for their inalienable right to self-determination under the UN resolutions.

In a press release issued by the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs, it said that arrangements have been made to celebrate Kashmir Solidarity Day tomorrow at home and abroad in a grand manner. It said that Solidarity walks will be organised.

In Islamabad, a rally will be held in solidarity with the Kashmiri people on the Constitution Avenue in Islamabad. One minute silence will be observed at 09:30 am to pay homage to the martyrs of Kashmiri Shuhada.

In the federal capital, the walk will be led by cabinet members including. It will be joined by the parliamentarians and people belonging to different walks of life. Posters and billboards will be displayed on important roads, airports, and railway stations to highlight the plight of Kashmiri people.

In connection with the day, debate and declamation contests as well as essay writing competitions will be organized in educational institutions across the country.

Kashmir issue remains a flash point between Pakistan and India with Islamabad constantly urging the world to hold a plebiscite on Kashmir.

Recently, the Indian Supreme Court ruled that Article 370 which guaranteed special status to Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) was a temporary provision and that the occupied territory was an integral part of the country.

The Narendra Modi regime in gross violation of the United Nations resolutions and international law scrapped Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian Constitution that granted special autonomous status to Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and imposed military siege in the territory on 5th August 2019.

As a result, the state of more than 12 million people was also split into two federally administered territories.

Subsequently, a batch of petitions challenged the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution and a five-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud heard the matter for 16 days and reserved its verdict on September 5.

While announcing the reserved verdict, Indian SC held that the occupied territory became an integral part of India “which is evident from Article 1 and 370 of the constitution”.

In its judgment, which was reserved in September, the top court said the Occupied Kashmir was an integral part of India, which had not attained internal sovereignty after joining the Union (India).