Political parties slam Indian atrocities, demand concrete action

Participants of rallies and demonstrations held in Karachi to mark Kashmir Solidarity Day on Friday renewed their pledge to continue full moral support for the people of Kashmir who, they said, had been fighting for their independence from India.

They said that the Kashmiris were going through the worst form of aggression at the hands of the Indian forces in the held Kashmir.

A number of religious and political parties, civil society organisations, and residents’ groups had organised rallies and various other programmes to express solidarity with their Kashmiri brethren.

PTI’s rally

Marking Kashmir Solidarity Day, the Karachi chapter of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) organised a rally that started from the party secretariat, Insaf House, and ended at the Mazar-e-Quaid.

A large number of workers, including the party’s central, provincial and regional leadership, attended the rally. PTI Karachi president and MPA Khurram Sher Zaman addressed the participants that the party’s grand rally was an expression of solidarity and love for the Kashmiri people.

“Prime Minister Imran Khan has been highlighting the Kashmir issue at the international level for the last three years. Today, the Kashmir issue is being discussed all over the world, including the United Nations,” he said. “There is a leader in our country who is a source of pride for the Muslims around the world,” he said, adding that the opposition parties never talked about resolving the issue of Kashmir when they were in government.

Saeed Afridi, PTI Karachi’s general secretary and MPA, said that the photos of Prime Minister Imran Khan were being posted in Indian-occupied Kashmir today. “It shows that the Kashmiri people love him. God willing, Kashmir will become part of Pakistan under the leadership of Imran Khan.”

PTI Azad Kashmir leader Sardar Maqsood Zaman said that Kashmir was the lifeblood of Pakistan.

MQM-P’s event

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) organised an event to mark Kashmir Solidarity Day to condemn the atrocities of Indian forces in the Indian-occupied Kashmir and stripping Kashmir of its special status by amending the Indian constitution.

MQM-P convener Khaliq Maqbool Siddiqui, federal minister Aminul Haq and other speakers spoke to the participants, who had gathered at a park adjacent to the party’s headquarters in Bahadurabad.

Siddiqui said that Karachi’s 30 million people were with their Kashmiri brethren and fully supported their freedom struggle. He demanded of Prime Minister Imran Khan to give a roadmap to the nation for resolving the Kashmir problem.

“When 500 days of curfew and lockdown have passed in Indian-occupied Kashmir, we have gathered here to condemn the brutality of the Indian government,” he said.

“While we commend the UN for bringing freedom to millions and dismantling apartheid and colonialism across countries and continents during the past seven decades, we are also baffled at the inability of the world body to resolve this issue,” he said.

Other speakers appealed to champions of human rights to help Kashmiris get freedom from India and demanded that the Pakistan government and all heads of Muslim countries should raise the Kashmir issue at all international forums

JI’s rally

A large number of Jamaat-e-Islami workers, including women and children, attended a rally to mark Kashmir Solidarity Day, which was addressed by JI’s deputy head Liaquat Baloch, Sindh chief Muhammad Hussain Mehanti, Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman and other leaders.

Speakers expressed solidarity with the people of Indian-occupied Kashmir (IOK) and said that despite facing atrocities at the hands of Indian forces in the valley, the Kashmiris were with Pakistan, and under international laws, Pakistan had the right to initiate and help the people of Kashmir by all means.

Lashing out at silent spectators across the world, they said that such nations were not interested in resolving the Kashmir issue; rather, they opposed the Muslims, and the West wanted to maintain the legacy of the United States to remain silent on this burning issue.

Baloch said the government, the national leadership and policymakers should stop the irresponsible attitude towards Kashmir and chalk out a unified policy on it. “Bold steps should also be taken on the diplomatic front against India as the Kashmir issue is not merely a world issue, but in fact it is a matter of legal and just rights of 20 million people.

‘By ignoring the Kashmiris, the real stakeholder, any step to be taken by world order will not resolve this issue and will be a criminal act,” he said. “Our government should announce a bold Kashmir policy and the Jamaat-e-Islami will not ignore any deal in this respect and we will keep the masses vibrant on the Kashmir cause.”

Baloch said PM Imran Khan talked in a better way on Kashmir in the United Nations General Assembly. “But he declared people traitors who intend to cross the ceasefire line between the two Kashmirs.”

Mehanti said all human rights bodies and the West in principle had admitted that the people of IOK were being tortured under a lockdown imposed by the Indian government on them. He said the Indian forces’ brutalities on women, children, and youth could not shatter the will of the Kashmiris to get freedom.

“Kashmir Day should not be considered a day to observe, but steps should also be taken that could turn the struggle of the Kashmiris into a reality and that is an independent state for Kashmiris,” he said.

Rehman said that the world powers never looked into the Kashmir matter seriously and the issue was still unsolved despite the passage of 73 years. “Our rulers should adopt an outspoken stance on Kashmir and declare jihad against India,” he said.

JUI-F’s rally

The Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl held a rally outside the Karachi Press Club to mark Kashmir Day, where speakers, including party district head Maulana Noorul Haq, and former deputy speaker Balochistan Assembly Inayatullah Bazai, said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s madness had brought the entire region to the brink of war.

“The Indian government had made a grave violation of UN resolutions by revoking Article 370 of its constitution,” said Haq while addressing the participants. “We do not expect any good from the UN which remained unmoved on injustices committed not only in Kashmir but in Syria, Myanmar and other Muslim countries,” he said. Other speakers said that the issue of Kashmir was an incomplete agenda of the partition of the subcontinent, which had yet to be resolved through a plebiscite by the people of the valley.

Rally in Qayyumabad

A large number of people from Qayyumabad and the adjoining areas attended a rally to show solidarity with the Kashmiris on Kashmir Day. Former UC Qayyumabad chairman and PTI leader Shamshad Khan led the rally. The rally started from Qayyumabad and ended at the Insaf House.

Khan said that the United Nation should implement its resolutions on the Kashmir issue and make efforts for ensuring independence for the Kashmiris. “The right to self-determination is a fundamental right enshrined in the UN charter that is not extinguished by delays and manipulation,” he said.

MWM’s events

A large number of people belonging to various walks of life participated in rallies organised by the Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) in different cities of Sindh to mark Kashmir Solidarity Day on Friday.

Participants in the rallier held banners and placards with slogans against Indian atrocities in the occupied Kashmir. The main protest by the MWM Karachi Division in connection with Kashmir Solidarity Day was held after the Friday prayers at the Jamia Masjid Noor Iman.

Allama Sadiq Jafari, Allama Mirza Yusuf Hussain, Allama Azhar Naqvi, Allama Mubashir Hassan, Allama Malik Muhammad Abbas and others participated in the protest and slammed the Indian atrocities and crimes against humanity in the occupied region.

The speakers said that the mockery of humanity being displayed by India in the occupied Kashmir was unprecedented in history. They maintained that for the past seventy years, Kashmir has been suffering cruelty and barbarism. They said India was a rogue state that had been violating resolutions of international bodies, including the United Nations.

The MWM also held a prayer meeting in memory of the martyrs of Kashmir at the exhibition square. Leaders of various political and religious parties paid homage to the martyrs of Kashmir. Candles were also lit on the occasion.

Ali Hussain Naqvi in his address said the time had come for the future of the people of Kashmir to be decided in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations. The intensification of atrocities against the minorities by the Indian government was paving the way for a popular uprising, he added.

The speaker highlighted that it was the stubbornness and undemocratic attitude of the Indian rulers that was posing obstacles in giving the people of Kashmir the right to self-determination. He remarked that India considered itself the champion of democracy but ironically its attitude towards the Muslims of the occupied Kashmir was worse than dictators.

He said if India had been a democracy, this would not have been the state of affairs as in a democratic state, those who raise their voices for their rights are not suppressed by force. He also lamented the apathetic attitude of the Muslim world over the Kashmir issue. He said the Muslim countries were unfortunately following policies that were weakening the Muslims politically all over the world. The speaker said it was our moral and religious responsibility to speak in support of the unarmed and oppressed people of Kashmir.