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Feb 5 to be observed as Kashmir Solidarity Day

ISLAMABAD: Sirens will be sounded throughout the country and AJK at 10 a.m. on February 5, while a one-minute silence would be observed to express solidarity with the Kashmiris fighting for their freedom.

"The traffic will come to a standstill on all roads and the entire nation will join in expressing solidarity with Kashmiris with a one-minute silence," Minister for Kashmir Affairs Abbas Sarfaraz Khan said in an interview.

He appealed to the nation to express full solidarity with the people of occupied Kashmir in the latter's just cause for freedom from Indian yoke.

The minister also appealed to the nation to offer Dua for more than 70,000 Kashmiri martyrs who lost their lives at the hands of brutal Indian forces.

The government has taken a number of initiatives at various levels to mark the day in an effective manner this year by increasing international awareness about the Kashmir issue," the minister said.

'Kashmir Solidarity Day' will be observed on February 5 with the theme that the Indian state terrorism in occupied Kashmir is in complete violation of the UN resolutions that mandate the Kashmiris the Kashmiris their right to self-determination.

A number of events have been planned for the day which will expose the Indian atrocities against the Kashmiris struggling for their rights.

The events include the unprecedented nationwise observance of silence as a mark of respect for the over 70,000 Kashmiris martyred in the last 10 years.

A ceremony to hand over 10 Kashmiri children to SOS village will be held at Kohala, highlighting to the world the excruciating experience the new generation undergoes at the hands of Indian forces when they are forced to part with their parents and dear and near ones.

A seminar will be organised on the eve of Kashmir Solidarity Day at which prominent international personalities including Kashmiri leaders will expose the India forces' repression and mass human rights violations in occupied Kashmir.

Pakistani missions in leading capitals of the world will also inform gatherings of public opinion-makers about the Kashmir issue.

The missions will also organise walks, seminars, photo exhibitions, and video documentaries of the heart-rending tales of Kashmiris who are being subjected to worst tyranny.

In Islamabad, a walk will be held on February 5 which is expected to elicit a large participation of people from various walks of life.

Student organisations, NGOs, APHC leaders, government officials, Kashmiris, minorities and general public will take part in the walk.

Besides, photo exhibitions will also be held in the capital.

The Lok Virsa in Islamabad will also organise a cultural show, featuring exhibition of books, paintings and photographs, that will underline the violence being perpetrated against Kashmiri.APP