'Kashmir EU Week' set to open curtains in Brussels next week
October 06, 2017
BRUSSELS: Kashmir Council-Europe (KC-EU) is set to launch a week-long program pertaining to the disputed Indo-Pak border region here on Monday.
Kashmir EU Week — the annual cultural event organised by the KC-EU in collaboration with other Europe-based Kashmiri organisations — is set to run from October 9 to November 12, 2017.
Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider will be honouring the event with his presence as the chief guest. He will be accompanied by AJK Senior Minister of Planning & Housing Chaudhry Tariq Farooq.
A collection of photos prepared by a French photographer on the Indian-occupied Kashmir (IoK) would also be shown at the exhibition. Numerous people, including members of the European Union parliament, scholars, intellectuals, and human rights activists from home and abroad have been invited to attend.
Addressing a press conference here about the program, Ali Raza Syed — the Chairman of the KC-EU — said, "‘Kashmir EU Week’ will comprise seminars, an international conference, debates, as well as a photography and handicraft exhibition [centred around] Kashmir."
"Creating awareness about the large-scale human rights violations in IoK is the main objective of the program," Syed added. He hopes that experts and parliamentarians would attend the opening ceremony as well as other programs scheduled during the Kashmir EU-Week.
The KC-EU's event has been an annual festivity for many years, apart from several other programs, such as conferences, seminars, and debates geared towards raising awareness regarding Kashmir.
Most of these programs were held at diplomatic, political, research, and educational institutions of Europe.
The chairman — who is also the program coordinator — commented on how the Kashmiri people have offered unparalleled sacrifices for the resolution of the internationally-acknowledged dispute, adding that the use of brutal force cannot stop them from continuing their struggle for self-determination.
Kashmiris are determined to continue their peaceful struggle for the liberation of their region, he stated.
Urging the global fraternity to leap to action, Syed stressed that it is the duty of the international community to help find an amicable resolution for Kashmir — a well-talked-about topic at conferences and summits around the world.
