Moon Desk: President Dr Arif Alvi has urged the international community, especially the international human rights organizations and the United Nations human rights machinery, to take cognizance of the dire human rights and humanitarian situation in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
Arif Alvi in a message on Kashmir Martyrs Day) being observed, today, called upon these global bodies to ensure a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people.
He said on this solemn occasion, he pays homage to the 22 Kashmiri martyrs, who rendered the ultimate sacrifice while braving the indiscriminate firing by the Dogra forces in 1931.
He further said that as they honoured the invaluable sacrifices of the heroes of 1931 as well as all innocent Kashmiris who had laid down their lives in their this just struggle, they once again urged India to immediately halt repression in IIOJK, cease all human rights violations, release all political prisoners, lift the military siege, stop its attempts to change the demographic structure of the occupied territory, and let the Kashmiri people exercise their legitimate right to self-determination.
On this somber day, he said, the people of Pakistan joined their Kashmiri brethren in commemorating the sacrifice of the Martyrs of 1931.
Regrettably, the president noted that Kashmiris were still struggling against India’s illegal occupation. Even today, over 900,000-strong Indian forces continued to hold the Kashmiri people hostage to perpetuate their wrongful occupation of Jammu and Kashmir, he added.
The President said India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019 were yet another attempt to strip the Kashmiri people of their distinct identity and turn them into a minority in their own land.
“Subsequent to these measures, hurting the sentiments of the Kashmiris, India scrapped the regional public holiday on Kashmir Martyrs’ Day, which had been observed every year since 1948. India also discontinued the traditional Guard of Honor ceremony at the Martyrs’ Graveyard,” he deplored.
