QUETTA: Speakers at a function held on Kashmir Solidarity Day said that the struggle of the Kashmiri youth will not end till its liberation and the government and people of Pakistan would continue to extend political, diplomatic and moral support until success is achieved.

“The struggle of the Kashmiri people is like the burning of Chanar leaves that never extinguish and continue to give heat,” said Professor Fazale Haq Mir, one of the leading educationists of the province.

The event was organised by the Youth Forum of Kashmir at the Boys Scouts Headquarters and was attended by home secretary Akbar Hussain Durrani and a large audience comprising students and social workers, among others.

Prof Mir said that the Kashmir issue was one of self determination, for which its citizens had struggling for over the last 80 years.

He said that thousands of Kashmiris had sacrificed their lives and faced atrocities at the hands of forces in India-held Kashmir, but refused to give up.

“Their sacrifices will soon bear fruit,” he said, adding that without the inclusion of the Kashmiri leadership in the negotiations, the issue cannot be resolved.

Mr Durrani said that the people Kashmir should be given the right of self-determination according to the United Nations Security Council resolutions adopted in 1948.

He said that India itself had taken the Kashmir issue to the United Nations but was not ready to implement the resolutions.

The home secretary shed light on the atrocities and human rights violations committed by the Indian forces, urging the youth to support the freedom struggle.

Ms Zahra Mouzzam, the forum’s executive director, and representatives of various organisations spoke on the occasion in different local languages to show solidarity with the people of Kashmir.

Different events were organised in cities across the province by various organisations to mark the day.

Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2016