From Karachi to Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gwadar to Peshawar, hundreds of thousands of people on Thursday staged rallies and demonstrations, expressing solidarity with oppressed Kashmiris against India’s continued illegal occupation of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
Marking February 5 as a “Kashmir Solidarity Day,” Pakistanis and Kashmiris joined hands to express solidarity with the oppressed people of IIOJK with full-throated slogans, “Kashmir Banay Pakistan.”
In Peshawar, a mammoth protest rally led by KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi was held on Thursday to mark Kashmir Solidarity Day, expressing unwavering support for the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
The rally marched from the Chief Minister’s House to the Governor’s House. It was jointly led by Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Faisal Karim Kundi and Adviser to the Chief Minister on Finance Muzammil Aslam and others.
Heads of administrative departments, members of civil society, representatives of the business community, students, and citizens from various walks of life participated in large numbers.
The participants strongly condemned Indian state repression in occupied Kashmir and reiterated their solidarity with the Kashmiri people. Protesters carried placards and banners bearing slogans against Indian long atrocities and human rights abuses.
Upon reaching the Governor’s House, a one-minute silence was observed at the main gate to pay homage to the martyrs of Kashmir. Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, along with the rally participants, paid tribute to the sacrifices of the Kashmiri martyrs.
Addressing the central rally, Governor Faisal Karim Kundi said that the freedom struggle of the Kashmiri people is a just, legitimate, and principled struggle that cannot be suppressed through force, oppression, or coercion.
He stressed that Pakistan must further intensify and strengthen its diplomatic efforts to effectively highlight the Kashmir issue at international forums.
The Governor emphasized that granting the Kashmiri people their right to self-determination in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolutions and their longstanding aspirations for freedom of Indian yoke has become inevitable.
Calling upon the international community to take immediate notice of grave human rights violations and state-sponsored brutality in occupied Kashmir, Governor Kundi reaffirmed that Pakistan would continue its political, diplomatic, and moral support for its Kashmiri brothers and sisters at every global forum.
He expressed confidence that the people of occupied Kashmir would soon achieve freedom from Indian oppression, illegal occupation, and tyranny.
Governor Kundi also paid tribute to the centuries-long struggle, resilience, and unwavering resolve of the Kashmiri people, saying that the brave people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa stand shoulder to shoulder with their Kashmiri brethren, as they always have.
In all districts of KP, big protest rallies and demonstrations were held where they denounced the decades-long Indian atrocities and state terrorism that intensified after the revocation of IIOJK’s special constitutional status on August 5, 2019.
The speakers said India had tried to rob Kashmiris of identity and freedom on October 27, 1947, but failed in its nefarious designs as Kashmiris stood up against illegal occupation and freed Azad Kashmir.
Breaking all records of oppression and human rights violations, Indian occupational forces have unleashed a reign of terror in the held valley, where indiscriminate firing, use of cluster ammunition, sniper attacks, and pellet guns have left thousands of innocent Kashmiris injured and killed.
Reports of fake encounters, arbitrary detentions, and sexual violence have further deepened the humanitarian crisis, forcing Kashmiris to live under constant fear and sleepless nights in the held valley.
Meanwhile, Secretary General of the World Kashmir Awareness Forum (WKAF), Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai, said that frustration at India’s intransigence and the global community’s hesitation to fulfill its commitments had compelled the people of held Kashmir to intensify their struggle for freedom.
“In the past 36 years alone, since 1990, Kashmiris have lost more than 100,000 civilians, including men, women, and children to Indian state violence,” Dr Fai said. “Over 900,000 Indian troops remain stationed in the held valley, making it one of the most militarized zones in the world.”
Dr Fai lamented the silence of international media, contrasting it with the coverage of political uprisings in Eastern Europe. “The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has warned that media freedom in Kashmir stands at the brink of extinction,” he added.
Senior APHC leader and Chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (DFP), Shabbir Ahmed Shah, urged the international community to act decisively against India’s ongoing campaign to alter the region’s demography and identity.
Global human rights bodies, including Amnesty International and several partner organizations, among them the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances, CIVICUS, and the Front Line Defenders, have called upon G20 member states to press India for the release of Kashmiri political prisoners and human rights defenders.
“These appeals reflect a growing global call for justice, accountability, and the protection of human dignity in one of the world’s most contested territories,” the joint statement read.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has also reaffirmed its continued moral and diplomatic support for the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination in accordance with UN resolutions.
According to the Kashmir Media Service (KMS), Shabbir Shah highlighted that coercion, intimidation, and the harassment of journalists and activists remain central to the Modi-led government’s Kashmir policy.
He called on world leaders to help resolve the lingering dispute and praised Pakistanis and people of Azad Kashmir for observing February 05 as a mark of solidarity with oppressed Kashmiris of IIOJK.
Vice Chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples League, Mushtaq Ahmed Shah, said Indian occupational forces regularly conduct midnight raids, harass women, and abduct civilians under the pretext of search operations.
He cited the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) 2019 report, which exposed Indian forces’ use of excessive force and pellet guns against peaceful protesters, which was a violation of the UN’s Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms.
“The arbitrary detention of freedom leader Yasin Malik and the killing of Burhan Wani are glaring examples of India’s attempt to silence Kashmiri voices for freedom,” he added, condemning the issuance of over six million illegal domicile certificates aimed at changing the Muslim-majority demography of the held valley.