PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa caretaker Chief Minister Justice retired Syed Arshad Hussain Shah on Sunday said that the people and the government of the province expressed complete solidarity with their Kashmiri brethren on the eve of Kashmir Solidarity Day.

He reiterated the people’s resolve to extend moral, political and diplomatic support to Kashmiris in their struggle to get the right to self-determination.

In a statement issued here, Justice Arshad Hussain said the right to self-determination was the fundamental right of the people of Kashmir, and their struggle for the same could not be suppressed through oppression by the Indian government. He added that the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa stood side by side their Kashmiri brothers and sisters in their just struggle, and would continue to do so until they got their right to self-determination.

The caretaker chief minister urged the international community and the human rights organisations to take notice of the brutalities in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, and play their due role in giving Kashmiri people their inalienable right to self-determination by getting implemented the resolutions of United Nations in letter and spirit.

He maintained that the decades-long struggle of Kashmir people for their freedom was unprecedented, and hoped that people of Kashmir would soon be able to get their right to self-determination.

The chief minister condemned the unilateral decision of the Indian government to revoke the special status of the occupied Kashmir provided in the Indian Constitution followed by the lockdown imposed by the Indian army with the aim to suppress the struggle of Kashmiris for their freedom.

He once again urged the international community to understand the sensitivity of Kashmir issue, adding that durable peace in the region would not be possible until the issue was resolved as per the aspirations of people.

Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2024