Thousands in Pakistan mark Kashmir solidarity day

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AA) - Massive protests and rallies were held across Pakistan on Friday to observe a day of solidarity with Kashmir and condemn the ongoing violence in Jammu and Kashmir.

Rallies and protests were held in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, Azad Kashmir and other cities in Pakistan to observe April 6 as solidarity day with the Kashmiri people following the killing of at least 20 people in Kashmir on Sunday.

A human chain was also formed by hundreds of people on roads connecting Islamabad to Azad Kashmir chanting slogans against killings in Jammu and Kashmir.

President Mamnoon Hussain called on the international community “to be cognizant of its responsibility and stop Indian forces from committing atrocities”.

“The recent killings of 20 unarmed civilians in Indian-held Kashmir is again a manifestation of the Indian policy of trying to resolve the disputes through the barrel of the gun,” the president said in a statement.

“The massacre carried out by the Indian occupation forces is totally unacceptable and should be unequivocally condemned by the international community and human rights community around the world.”

He added that “the people of Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir are being deprived of the basic rights to life and self-determination”.

Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif said Pakistan will continue its political, moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people.

“We will stand with our Kashmiri brothers and sisters and remind the United Nations to fulfill their promise made with the people of Kashmir by implementing UN Security Council resolutions,” he said, adding that the UN should investigate human rights violations in Kashmir.

Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.

The two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- since they were partitioned in 1947, two of them over Kashmir.