• Seminars, other events held across provinces, AJK and GB to slam India’s Aug 5 actions
• Pakistan’s missions abroad reaffirm support for people of occupied Kashmir
• UN stand on Kashmir dispute ‘remains unchanged’, says deputy spokesperson
ISLAMABAD: The nation observed Youm-i-Istehsal (Exploitation Day) on Wednesday to mark the anniversary of India revoking the occupied region’s special autonomy in 2019, with rallies staged in the federal capital, across the four provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan.
In Islamabad, a major solidarity rally, led by Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs, Gilgit-Baltistan and Safron Engineer Amir Muqam, was held on Constitution Avenue. Sirens were sounded at 9am, following which participants observed a one-minute silence to express solidarity with the people of India-held Kashmir, state-run APP reported.
Participants carried Pakistan and AJK flags, banners and placards expressing solidarity with the Kashmiri people and condemning India’s actions in occupied Kashmir.
They strongly condemned the Aug 5, 2019 actions, maintaining that the unilateral measures could neither alter the internationally recognised disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir nor suppress the Kashmiris’ struggle for their right to self-determination.
Similar rallies, seminars and solidarity events were organised across the four provinces, AJK and GB.
In Muzaffarabad, a rally organised by Pasban-e-Hurriyat Jammu Kashmir (PHJK) drew the participation of women, children, elderly people, youth, political and social activists, and other citizens.
Titled “Chalo Azadi Ke Liye (March for Freedom)”, the rally was led by PHJK Chairman Uzair Ahmad Ghazali, AJK Prime Minister’s spokesperson Shaukat Javed Mir, PHJK women’s wing head Mehnaz Qureshi, Usman Ali Hashim, Raja Sajeed Khan and Mohammad Ishaq Shaheen, among others.
The rally marched from Burhan Wani Chowk to Garhi Pan Chowk, with participants carrying black flags as well as the flags of Pakistan and AJK, and displaying banners bearing slogans against India and in support of Kashmir’s right to self-determination.
Separately, another rally was taken out under the aegis of the Kashmir Liberation Cell. Its representatives later submitted a memorandum to the office of the United Nations Military Observers near Domel, calling upon the world body to play its long-overdue role in resolving the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the wishes of its people.
Protest rallies, gatherings and condemnation ceremonies were also held in Taxila, Attock, Hazro, Jand and Hassanabdal to express solidarity with the oppressed Kashmiri people.
Diplomatic missions
Pakistan’s diplomatic missions across the world observed Youm-i-Istehsal with seminars, commemorative ceremonies, documentary screenings and public outreach events, reaffirming Pakistan’s continued political, diplomatic and moral support for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Events were held at Pakistan’s missions in Beijing, Kabul, Tehran and London, where diplomats, parliamentarians, academics, community leaders, media representatives and members of the Pakistani diaspora gathered to mark the day observed annually against India’s revocation of the special constitutional status of India-held Kashmir, according to a news release.
The Pakistan Embassy in Ankara, in collaboration with the Economic and Social Research Centre, held a solemn event to mark Youm-i-Istehsal and renew its commitment to solidarity with the people of India-held Kashmir.
Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti presented a joint resolution in the provincial assembly condemning India’s unilateral actions of Aug 5, 2019. The resolution was unanimously adopted by the House.
UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Aziz Haq said the UNSC resolutions pledging the right of self-determination to the people of Kashmir had “not changed”.
“You’ll have seen what was expressed, including by the High Commission for Human Rights [Volker Turk], about our concerns that all basic rights are respected for the people of Kashmir,” he told reporters at a briefing in New York.
According to a statement, PPP Vice President Senator Sherry Rehman flayed India for perpetrating “genocidal brutality” in India-held Kashmir. She said Kashmir “is not real estate” but an internationally recognised disputed territory.
Speaking as the chief guest at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad on Youm-i-Istehsal, she said Aug 5, 2019 marked not only the revocation of Article 370 but also the beginning of “an attempted annexation by stealth” and a continuing assault on international law.
Tariq Naqash in Muzaffarabad, Bakhtawar Mian and Iftikhar A. Khan in Islamabad and Saleem Shahid in Quetta also contributed to this report
Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2026