Pakistan reiterates support, urges global community to play due role in Indian occupied Kashmir

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday reiterated Islamabad’s “unwavering political, diplomatic, and moral support” for the people Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), urging the international community to play its due role in ensuring respect for human rights in the occupied territory. 

Kashmir Martyrs' Day is observed each year on July 13 to pay tribute to the 22 Kashmiris who embraced martyrdom when the Dogra administration opened fire on peaceful demonstrators in Srinagar in 1931.

In a statement issued by the Press Information Department, President Asif Ali Zardari said India's illegal and unilateral actions of August 5, 2019 was an attempt to “strip the Kashmiri people of their distinct identity and turn them into a minority in their own land.” 

While paying a rich tribute to the fallen 22 Kashmiris, the president said that subsequent to the order, India scrapped the regional public holiday observed each year on the day and also discontinued the traditional Guard of Honor ceremony at the Martyrs' Graveyard.

The president urged New Delhi to halt repression immediately in the occupied territory, “cease all human rights violations, release all political prisoners, lift the military siege and stop its attempts to change the demographic structure.”

“We also urge the international community to play its due role in ensuring respect for human rights […] and to support efforts aimed at the peaceful resolution,” the president said. 

“Pakistan will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Kashmiri brothers and sisters, steadfastly supporting their just cause,” he added. 

In a separate statement issued by PID, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that Kashmir Day symbolized the “resilience, courage and unwavering determination” of the occupied people in continuing their “struggle for justice and the realization of their inalienable right to self-determination.” 

“Arbitrary detentions, suppression of political dissent, restrictions on the media, and attempts to alter the demographic and political landscape of the occupied territory have been widely documented and condemned by international human rights organizations and United Nations human rights mechanisms,” the premier said. 

“Yet, the people of Jammu and Kashmir continue to steadfastly pursue their legitimate aspirations,” he added. 

He said that Islamabad paid homage to the “courage, resilience, and sacrifices of all the martyrs” of occupied territory.

“Their enduring legacy will continue to strengthen the resolve of generations in the ongoing pursuit of the realization of the inalienable right to self-determination,” PM Sharif said. 

He added that the government reiterated its “unwavering political, diplomatic, and moral support for the people” of occupied territory. 

“We stand in complete solidarity with their just struggle for the realization of their inalienable right to self-determination, as enshrined in the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions,” he said. 

“Lasting peace and stability in South Asia remain contingent upon the peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions,” he added.