MUZAFFARABAD (Kashmir English): A large public gathering organised by the All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Azad Jammu and Kashmir took place in Muzaffarabad to observe Kashmir Solidarity Day yesterday.
According to reports, participants assembled and marched along the main highway to express their support for the Kashmiri people. The demonstrators displayed their solidarity by waving the flags of Pakistan and Azad Kashmir.
The ‘Kashmir Solidarity Rally’ was led by Hurriyat Conference Convener Ghulam Mohammad Sufi, with Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Chaudhry Latif Akbar serving as the chief guest. Political and religious leaders, business representatives, lawyers, and members of civil society also took part in the event.
During the rally, citizens passionately chanted slogans advocating for Kashmir’s freedom while also condemning the ongoing oppression in Illegally Indian-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
Speakers at the event reaffirmed that both the people and governments of Pakistan and Azad Kashmir remain steadfast in providing political, diplomatic, and moral support to Kashmiris in their struggle for freedom. They emphasised the unbreakable bond between Pakistanis and Kashmiris, stating that no force could separate them due to their shared ideology.
They further stressed that Pakistanis stand firmly with the people of Kashmir in their fight for self-determination. The speakers accused India of illegally occupying Jammu and Kashmir, committing severe human rights violations, and engaging in war crimes such as extrajudicial killings, unjust imprisonments, and land seizures, while also attempting to undermine the region’s Islamic identity.
The gathering also rejected the Indian Lok Sabha’s actions of August 5, 2019, as well as the Indian Supreme Court’s decision on December 11, 2023, labelling them biased and politically motivated.
The speakers asserted that India’s continued oppression contradicts and disregards the resolutions of the United Nations. They called for a resolution of the Kashmir conflict through a free and fair referendum, as outlined in the United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Additionally, they urged international human rights organisations to take action for the release of Kashmiri political prisoners and condemned the implementation of oppressive laws in Indian-Occupied Kashmir, describing them as severe violations of human rights.
The speakers warned that the people of Azad Kashmir would not tolerate these injustices indefinitely and urged India to put an end to its atrocities against innocent civilians.
Speakers at the APHC gathering
Among those who addressed the gathering were Convener Hurriyat Conference Ghulam Muhammad Sufi, Hurriyat leaders, Speaker AJK Assembly Chaudhary Latif Akbar, Ameer Jamat-e-Islami AJK Dr. Muhammad Mushtaq, Sardar Hassan Ibrahim, Danyal Shahab, Pervaiz Ahmed Khattak, Sardar Rizwan Hanif, Uzair Ahmed Ghazali, Shaukat Javed Mir, Raja Saqib Majeed, Chaudhary Feroz Din, Raja Muhammad Arif Khan, Imtiaz Butt, Iqbal Yaseen Awan, Drm Muhammad Sajjad Khan, Raja Muhammad Aslam Khan, Syed Manzoor Hussain Shah, Abdur Razzaq Khan, Ateeq Ur Rehman Danish, Rizwan Mughal and others.
