ISLAMABAD: A rally was taken out at the foreign office led by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to express solidarity with the oppressed Kashmiris in connection with Youm-e-Istehshal.
The participants carried flags of Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir and raised slogans in support of Kashmiris. The rally was attended by cabinet members and people belonging to different segments of society.
Speaking to the media persons on the occasion, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the entire Pakistani nation and Kashmiri people reject the illegal and unilateral steps of August 5, 2019 taken by the Indian government in illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. He said the government will continue to support the just cause of Kashmir,
The rally will culminate at D-chowk. Federal Ministers Chaudhary Fawad Hussain, Shibli Faraz, Azam Swati and people belonging to different segments of the society also joined the rally.
President Arif Alvi also addressed the rally and emphatically stated that Pakistan will continue to stand by their oppressed Kashmiri brethern until they get independence from the cruel Indian clutches.
The president said despite all Indian conspiracies, Pakistan is emerging as a strong nation that will get Kashmir freed from India. He said India is playing with the fire and destroying regional peace and stability.
Paying glowing tributes to the sacrifices of Kashmiri people, the president also made it clear that Pakistan will not hold any talks with India until it rescinds its illegal steps of 5th August 2019.
President Alvi reminded the world community of its obligations towards the lingering dispute. He said the United Nations had accepted the right of self-determination of Kashmiri people. He said the world put the dispute on the backburner but the Kashmiri people continued to stand firm against the Indian oppression.
Arif Alvi said the presence of a large number of troops in the illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir is sufficient to open the world eyes regarding the atrocities being committed there.
“An effort is being made to change the demography of the occupied territory. Despite all sorts of oppression, the Kashmiri people are raising the flag of independence and their voices cannot be suppressed,” he said.
He said the media and diplomats are free to visit Azad Jammu and Kashmir but India is not allowing the same in illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir to cover up its oppression.
The president said Prime Minister Imran Khan has strongly pleaded the case of Kashmiri people at the international forums reminding them that this dispute needs to be resolved.
