Kashmir Solidarity Day: Honouring 78 Years Of Sacrifices In Pursuit Of Freedom From Indian Yoke

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Feb, 2025) With the start of February, the Kashmiris living in both sides of Line Control (LoC) and Pakistan have geared up to observe Kashmir Solidarity Day with a renewed commitment to continue their peaceful legitimate struggle for freedom from the Indian yoke.

Every year, Kashmir solidarity day is observed on February 5 in Pakistan and Azad Kashmir to honour the 78 years long struggle and matchless sacrifices of the oppressed Kashmiris of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jummu and Kashmir (IIOJK) who faced an endless oppression, human rights abuses and state terrorism at the hands of Indian occupational forces for over seven decades.

From Karachi to Khyber and Gawdar to Muzafarabad, the people of Pakistan and Azad Kashmir are all set to pay glowing tributes to the martyrs of Kashmiris of the Indian Occuped Jummu and Kashmir who sacrificed lives during legitimate freedom movement started on October 27, 1947 after indian forces invasion and was further intensified following abolishment of special status of IIOJK on August 5, 2019 by the fascist Modi regime.

Raise placards and banners with slogans like ‘Kashmir Banay Ga Pakistan and Indians forces go out of Kashmir”, the Kashmiris in both side of LoC and Pakistanis would demand from UN, international powers and human rights organizations to put pressure on the fascist Modi Government to restore the special status of IIOJK and give right of self determination to over 10 million oppressed Kashmiris as promised to them by the UNO.

Besides Kashmiris, the civil society, political and religious parties, lawyers, students, bodies, transporters, trade, farmers, unions and general public planned protest rallies and demonstrations in connection with Kashmir solidarity day in all provinces of Pakistan including Khyber Pakthunkhwa on February 5.

"Kashmir, the heaven on Earth, has been blazing for more than seven decades, unnoticed by those who make global decisions. Unleashing terror, Indian military forces had illegally invaded Kashmir against the will of Kashmiris and occupied it soon after the creation of Pakistan with no respect for Subcontinent Partition agreement, human rights, UN Charter and international laws," Professor Dr AH Hilali, former Chairman, Political Science Department, University of Peshawar while talking to APP.

He said India had been openly disregarding International laws and UN Security Council’s resolutions and committed sheer human rights violation in the illegally occupied valley.

Indian occupied forces had broken all records of atrocities and unleashed terror against innocent Kashmiris in a bid to press their legitimate freedom struggle but could not succeeded in their nefarious designs despite 78 years endless brutalities and human rights abuses there.

India had turned the occupied territory into world largest prison where oppressed Kashmiris were confined to their homes and deprived of all human rights including freedom of want, speech and liberties.

"By abolishing the special status of IIOJK on August 5, 2019, India’s nefarious designs regarding promoting Hindu ideology and hatred against Muslims besides settling Hindus in IIOJK has stand exposed," Dr Hilali said.

He said Modi Govt illegal actions of August 5, 2019 were tantamount to deprive Kashmiris of their properties, land, citizenships and converted them into minority.

“The communication blackout and terror unleashed by Indian occupied forces against oppressed Kashmiris including women and children had humiliated democratic and human rights traditions,” he maintained.

Despite Modi government’s illegal actions of August 5, 2019, he said independence movement has entered in an important stage in IIOJK and time is nearer with oppressed Kashmiris would achieve freedom from Indian yoke.

Manzoorul Haq, former Ambassador said that October 27, 1947 and August 5, 2019 are black days in the history of Kashmir as on these days, India had made deep-rooted conspiracy to rob Kashmiris of their history, language and ethno-cultural identity.

He said India’s persistent repression, depriving Kashmiris of all liberties and human rights abuses at IIOJK were one of the rootcause of an indigenous freedom movement in the held valley.

Mushtaq Ahmed Shah, Vice Chairman, Jummu and Kashmir Peoples League told APP that Kashmir Solidarity Day would be observed in Pakistan and Azad Kashmir with a renewed pledge to continue supporting the indeginous freedom movement at IIOJK politically, morally and diplomatically at world.

He said that Indian occupation forces were involved in extra judicial killing of innocent Kashmiris in fake encounters, putting the Kashmiri leadership behind bars, imposing clampdown on media and used human rights abuses as weapon of war.

Indian forces even didn’t allow mass ritual and funeral of great Kashmiri leader, Syed Ali Gillani and forcefully snatched his body from the bereaved family and buried him at night.

Similarly, great hurriat leader, Muhammad Yasin Malik was jailed for life in a fake case to silence his strong voice for Kashmirs freedom.

Despite the brutal killing of freedom fighter Burhan Wani and others Kashmiris leadership and youth in a fake encounter, he said India has failed to suppress the indigenous freedom movement in IIOJK despite passing of over 78 years.

He claimed the Indian Govt had provided about six million illegal domicile certificates of IIOJK to Hindus in a bid to bring about demographic change there.

The gruesome violation of human rights including forced disappearance of over 8,000 innocent Kashmiris, 8,652 unmarked mass graves, imposition of longest curfew on some 10 million unarmed Kashmiris, extra judicial killings, abuses against women and children have exposed India’s ugly secular face, he said.

He said over 162,000 Kashmiris were subjected to inhuman torture by the Indian forces since 1989. Referring to the September 2021’s Pakistani dossier having strong evidences of India’s involvement in war crimes and human rights abuses in IIOJK said about 8,652 unmarked graves had been identified in 89 villages of six districts in the held valley while bodies of 37 Kashmiris burnt alive by Indian forces were beyond recognition.

"Since 1989, over 96,000 cases of extra judicial killings, around 162,000 cases of arbitrary arrests and torture, over 25,000 pellet guns injuries, 11,250 women raped, 23,000 women widowed and over 108,000 children were orphaned by the Indian army," he said.

Mushtaq Ahmed said an excessive use of snipers and cluster ammunitions by India to target innocent Kashmiris along the Line of Control (LoC), use of children and women as human shields by Indian army during encounters and making them sleep at military camps forcing them to dig out minefields and tying youth on military jeeps had testified Modi government’s direct involvement in war crimes and genocide of Kashmiris.

Ambassador Manzoorul Haq said that the illegal occupation of Kashmir valley by India contravened multiple articles of the 30 fundamental human rights of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) drafted by representatives from all the regions of the world including India on December 10, 1948 and was subsequently adopted by the United Nations General Assembly ( UNGA).

This declaration is applied on all the signatory members of the UN including India and restrained them from abuse, exploitation, maltreatment and all kinds of violence besides violation of any fundamental rights protected in UDHR, he said.

Also, the forced occupation and abolishing special status of IIOJK was a complete violation of international human rights and humanitarians laws including 4th Geneva Convention and UN Security Resolutions, Manzoor said.

He said India went against several passed UN Security Council’s resolutions by revoking the IIOJK’s special status and urged international community including world powers to press Modi Govt to immediately go back to pre August 5, 2019 status of IIOJK and give right of self determination to the oppressed Kashmiris.

Deploring UN failure to implement its resolutions on Kashmir, the experts urged international community to look beyond trade and business interests and step forward with collective action to stop genocide of oppressed Kashmiris besides pressurize Modi government to reverse all its illegal actions of August 5, 2019 and give right of self determination to them like that of East Taimur as per the UN Security Council’s Resolutions imperative for lasting peace and stability in South Asia.

They said road to peace in South Asia is passing through Kashmir and lasting peace in subcontinent was not possible unless resolution of the core issue of Kashmir as per wishes and aspirations of Kashmiris.

APP/fam/1415/