PM Imran says justice will prevail in Kashmiris' struggle for self-determination
July 19, 2020
Prime Minister Imran Khan on the occasion of Youm-i-Ilhaq-e-Pakistan has reaffirmed Pakistan's commitment to the Kashmiri people and assured them that "justice will prevail" in their struggle for self-determination.
"Today we commemorate the historic occasion of Youm-i-Ilhaq-e-Pakistan, when Kashmiris passed a resolution for accession to Pakistan," tweeted PM Imran on Sunday.
PM Imran, while reaffirming the country's commitment to the Kashmiris, asserted that it was the right of the people of the valley to seek self-determination as it has been recognised by the United Nations Security Council and under international law.
"We will continue to fight for justice for Kashmiris as they struggle against the brutal and illegal actions of the Hindutva supremacist Indian government in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir," said PM Imran.
President Arif Alvi said that the purpose behind observing this day is to "reaffirm the commitment of Kashmiris to secure freedom from the tyrannical occupation of India and to join Pakistan".
Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control and all over the world are observing Youm-i-Ilhaq-e-Pakistan today with a renewed pledge to continue the struggle for freedom from Indian occupation and complete merger of Jammu and Kashmir with Pakistan.
On this day in 1947, representatives of the Kashmiris unanimously passed the resolution of Kashmir’s accession to Pakistan during a meeting of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference at the residence of Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan in Srinagar.
As per the understanding behind the partition plan, the princely states were free to accede to either of the two newly established countries.
'Unwavering support'
Foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi reaffirmed Pakistan's "unwavering support to Kashmiris in their just struggle for freedom".
"Despite decades of Indian occupation, resolve of Kashmiris and immutable bonds to Pakistan stand strong," he said.
'Salute their courage'
Human rights minister Shireen Mazari said she "salutes [the] courage" of generation after generation of Kashmiri men, women and children, who have "confronted and resisted Indian occupation, brutality and incarceration".
'Moral, political and diplomatic support to continue at full throttle'
Information minister Shibli Faraz vowed that Pakistan's moral, political and diplomatic support will continue at full throttle until Kashmiris are granted their right to self determination.
"Kashmir's ascension to Pakistan is proof that Pakistan lives in their hearts and is history's tight slap on the faces of those who think brute strength and oppression can be used to project otherwise," he wrote.
'Violence goes unaddressed'
Meanwhile, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch Kenneth Roth noted that the Indian authorities, in the current situation where all courts are closed, are using it as "an opportunity to round up critics of PM Modi's anti-Muslim policies".
"With courts closed lawyers struggle to free unjustly detained protesters [...] Violence by government supporters goes unaddressed," he wrote.
