ISLAMABAD: Demonstrations and rallies will be held in all major cities of Pakistan to highlight the Indian army’s gruesome actions against the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

The decision to do this was taken by the top political leadership of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Sunday at the All Parties Kashmir Conference convened by AJK President Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry.

The Kashmir issue will not be swept under the carpet and public meetings will be arranged in Islamabad while ‘monumental demonstrations’ will be organised in London, Brussels and New York to apprise the international community about it, Mr Chaudhry said.

Participants of the conference paid tribute to Kashmiris who had sacrificed so much for liberation of their homeland. They said that the government should make every possible effort to make this campaign a success.

AJK leadership calls for international inquiry into Indian army’s gruesome acts

“Our forefathers liberated Azad Kashmir and now from this base camp we will raise an effective voice for the liberation of Occupied Kashmir all over the world. Human rights organisations will also be contacted,” the AJK president pointed out.

A joint declaration was adopted by all participants, strongly condemning India’s efforts towards changing the demography of the region. Kashmir’s geography, historical and cultural identity, natural resources and most importantly, interests of the Kashmiri people will not be compromise, the declaration stated, adding the future of IIOJK will be decided in the light of resolutions passed by the United Nations Security Council which clearly state that the people of Kashmir must be granted their fundamental right to self-determination.

The Kashmiri people consider the right to self-determination sacred and are determined to make sacrifices and to continue the political struggle for this right, it added.

The recent principled stand, taken by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to resolve the Kashmir dispute was appreciated by participants of the meeting. Mr Guterres has been urged to speak up in support of the Kashmir cause, keeping in view, recommendations of reports published by the UN Human Rights Council in 2018 and 2019.

It has also been recommended in the declaration that an inquiry commission must be formed to conduct an independent investigation into violent killings of Kashmiris. All arrested political leaders, business leaders and civil society representatives including Kashmiri leaders Shabir Ahmad Shah, Mohammad Yasin Malik, Dr Abdul Hameed Fayyaz, Musarat Alam, Naeem Khan and Asiya Andarabi must be released, it stated.

Furthermore, restrictions on freedom of expression in IIOJK especially lockdown of the Kashmir Press Club and arrest of prominent human rights activists Khurram Pervez and Ahsan Onto were condemned. Media and international human rights organisations have been asked to play their role in the release of arrested journalists and human rights activists.

The conference was presided over and hosted by Barrister Sultan Chaudhry. Others who participated included AJK Prime Minister Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi, former president and prime minister Sardar Mohammad Yaqoob Khan, former prime minister Raja Farooq Haider Khan, former prime minister Sardar Atiq Ahmad Khan, senior minister and PTI President Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan, PPP President Chaudhry Mohammad Yasin, Opposition Leader in the AJK Legislative Assembly Chaudhry Latif Akbar, AJK PML-N Chief Organiser Shah Ghulam Qadir, JKPP President Sardar Hassan Ibrahim, Muslim Conference President Mirza Shafiq Jarral, Jamaat-i-Islami Emir Dr Khalid Mahmood, Maulana Imtiaz Siddiqui of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam and former emir of Jamaat-i-Islami Abdul Rashid Turabi.

Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2022