Rallies held to mark Youm-e-Istehsal Kashmir

PESHAWAR: The political and religious parties on Wednesday staged rallies in the provincial capital and elsewhere in the province to mark Youm-e-Istehsal Kashmir and express solidarity with the Kashmiris.

In Peshawar, the activists of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) organized big rallies to mark the day.

The JI workers gathered outside the Mahabat Khan mosque and staged ‘Down with India and Free Kashmir Rally.’ JI provincial general secretary Abdul Wasi and district president Atiqur Rahman led the rally.

The JUI workers assembled outside the Peshawar Press Club and held a demonstration to express solidarity with the Kashmiris and condemn government policies. They were led by former provincial minister Asif Iqbal Daudzai, JUI provincial spokesperson Abdul Jalil Jan and others.

The JI workers started a protest procession from Mahabat Khan mosque and reached Chowk Yadgar after passing through different routes. The rally morphed into a public gathering. Speaking on the occasion, Abdul Wasi said the ones compromising on Kashmir had no right to rule the country. He said the government should take steps for resolution of Kashmir dispute instead of making mere statements.

He said the prime minister should have fought the case of Kashmir at the international forums and called a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on the issue.

“But they preferred to take cosmetic measures like releasing songs, re-designing maps and renaming roads,” he said, adding that the JI workers would render every sacrifice to liberate Kashmir. The JUI leaders said the rulers compromised on Kashmir and left the Kashmiris alone.

They said that India badly violated United Nations resolutions by declaring Kashmir its integral part.

The speakers ridiculed the government’s steps of renaming a road and issuing a political map. They said the rulers were mocking the Kashmiri brothers. The rulers would become completely silent on the issue after observing the one-minute silence, they maintained.

MARDAN: The Youm-e-Istehsal Kashmir was observed in the district. The district administration arranged a rally which was attended by people from various walks of life. The rally started from Civil Secretariat and ended at Bacha Khan Chowk. The participants were holding Kashmir flags, banners and placards inscribed with anti-India and pro-Kashmir slogans.

CHARSADDA: Deputy Commissioner Adeel Shah said that Indian deprived the Kashmiris of the right to self-determination by abolishing the special status of the Occupied Kashmir.

He was addressing the participants of a rally which was taken out to mark the Youm-e-Istehsal Kashmir.

NOWSHERA: Deputy Commissioner Mir Raza Ozgan said that the Occupied Kashmir was an integral part of Pakistan. He asked the Indian government to pull out its forces from the valley and stop perpetrating atrocities against the Kashmiris. He was addressing a rally to mark the Youm-e-Istehsal Kashmir.

MINGORA: One minute silence was observed at a function to mark Youm-e-Istehsal Kashmir in the Swat district.District Development Advisory Committee Chairman Fazal Hakim Khan Yousafzai, Additional District Commissioner Hamid Khan and others attended the event. Speaking on the occasion, the condemned the Indian government for subjecting the Kashmiris to violence. They said that the sacrifices of the Kashmiris would not go waste.

MANSEHRA: Rallies were taken out in upper parts of Hazara to mark the anniversary of the revocation of the special status of the Indian-held Kashmir.

The people of Upper Kohistan took out a rally from outside the District Secretariat and marched through various roads up to the Kamila Bazaar. Holding banners and placards, protesters led by Deputy Commissioner Upper Kohistan Mohammad Arif raised slogans against Indian aggressions and brutalities in Kashmir.

BANNU: Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Zubair Khan Niazi said that the Indian government was conspiring to change the demography of the occupied Kashmir in an attempt to convert the Muslim majority into a minority in the valley.

Speaking as chief guest at a function to mark the Youm-e-Istehsal Kashmir, he said that the Occupied Kashmir was the jugular vein of Pakistan and the country would foil the conspiracies being hatched by the Indian government to deny Kashmiris the right to self-determination.

HANGU: The district administration took out a rally to observe the Youm-e-Istehsal Kashmir and condemn the Indian government for stripping the special status of the valley.

Deputy Commissioner Mansoor Rashid and District Police Officer Shahid Ahmad jointly led the protest rally. A large number of local people also participated in the rally.

TANK: The district administration here arranged a rally to protest the ongoing oppression of Indian forces against the Kashmiris.

Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Kabir Afridi, District Police Officer Muhammad Arif Khan, Additional Assistant Commissioner Shaukat Iqbal, Additional Assistant Commissioner (Revenue) Muhammad Yousaf, district administration officers, civil society, leaders of political parties and others attended the rally.

LANDIKOTAL: The Youm-e-Istehsal Kashmir was marked in Landikotal tehsil in Khyber district. The political parties and residents jointly held a walk. Assistant Commissioner Muhammad Imran, Additional Assistant Commissioner Shamsul Islam and tribal elders led the walk held at Charwazgai Chowk. They also observed one-minute silence to show solidarity with Kashmiris.

MIRANSHAH: A rally was taken out to mark the Youm-e-Istehsal Kashmir in North Waziristan. The participants of the rally carrying banners and placards chanted slogans against the Indian government for changing the special status of the Occupied Kashmir.

KHAR: Deputy Commissioner Fayyaz Sherpao led a rally to mark the Youm-e-Istehsal Kashmir in Bajaur tribal district. Speaking on the occasion, he said that the Indian government made a blunder by stripping the valley of its special status, as it would give impetus to the independence movement.

GHALLANAI: Deputy Commissioner Iftikhar Alam led a rally to mark the Youm-e-Istehsal Kashmir in Mohmand district. Carrying banners and placards, the participants of the rally chanted slogans against the Indian government. They said that the Indian forces were committing atrocities against the Kashmiris. The maintained that India would not be able to quell the independence movement by force.