Islamabad: The government and people of Pakistan are today solemnly observing the 91st Youm-e-Shuhada-e-Kashmir (Kashmir Martyrs’ Day) and paying homage to the twenty-two Kashmiri martyrs who rendered the ultimate sacrifice while braving the indiscriminate force unleashed on them in 1931 by the Dogra forces.
A statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan said that we join our Kashmiri brethren on this sombre day on either side of the Line of Control (LoC) in commemorating the contribution of the Martyrs of 1931.
Regretfully, Kashmiris are still struggling against illegal occupation by India. Even today, the 900,000-strong Indian occupation forces continue to hold hostage the Kashmiri people under the worst form of military siege to perpetuate their wrongful occupation of Jammu and Kashmir.
“India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019 were yet another attempt to strip the Kashmiri people of their distinct identity and turn them into a minority in their land,” the statement said.
More than 640 Kashmiris have been martyred in extra-judicial killings since then, and 120 have been martyred in cold blood this year alone.
In 2020, hurting the sentiments of the Kashmiris, India scrapped the regional public holiday on Kashmir Martyrs’ Day, which had been observed every year since 1948. India also discontinued the traditional guard of honour ceremony at the Martyrs’ Graveyard.
The statement further said that Pakistan once again urges India to immediately halt its state-terrorism in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK), cease all human rights violations, release all political prisoners, lift the in-human military siege, stop its attempts to change the demographic structure of the occupied territory, and let the Kashmiri people exercise their legitimate right to self-determination.
It said that Pakistan calls upon the international community, international human rights organizations, and particularly the United Nations and its human rights mechanism to take cognizance of the dire human rights and humanitarian situation in the IIOJK and ensure peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute under the relevant UNSC resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people.
