05 February 2004	Thursday	13 Zilhaj 1424

ISLAMABAD, Feb 4: Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Sardar Mohammad Anwar Khan has eulogized the services rendered by the people and the government of Pakistan in support of the Kashmiri people for the Kashmir cause.

In a message on the eve of the 'Kashmir Day' being observed on Thursday, he said the people of Kashmir had been engaged in a struggle for independence and their right to self-determination for the last 57 years.

"According to international media reports, 85,000 Kashmiris have been martyred over the last 14 years, their economy has been destroyed, women have been gang raped.

"All these atrocities are a black mark on the face of India, which is continuing with its repressive policies against the Kashmiris in the occupied Kashmir," he said.

"People of Kashmir firmly believe that Jammu and Kashmir are indivisible and while they welcome the composite dialogue between Pakistan and India, they have made it clear that they will accept the solution which will be acceptable to the people of Kashmir in line with the United Nations resolutions," he said.

He said more than 700,000 Indian armymen had failed to deter the Kashmiri people from their struggle and they were continuing their efforts to achieve the goal of independence and the right to self-determination.

He welcomed Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali's plan to visit Muzaffarabad to address a joint sitting of the AJK Legislative Council on the occasion.

In his message, AJK Prime Minister Sardar Sikander Hayat Khan said the struggle of Kashmiri people would continue till the occupied valley was freed and annexed with Pakistan.

"The independence struggle of the Kashmiri people is not new. It has been continuing for the last almost two centuries. Over the last 57 years this struggle has become more strong and now the Kashmiris have made it clear to the whole world that they will not fall short of offering any sacrifice to achieve their independence and their right to self-determination," he said.

He said the Kashmiris would accept a solution which was in accordance with their wishes and in line with the UN resolutions on Kashmir. "A lasting peace in the region will only be achieved by giving them independence and their right to self-determination.

"Killing dozens of innocent Kashmiris daily and installing barbed wire along the LoC will not help achieve any objective," Mr Hayat said.