KARACHI: The Sindh government has announced a public holiday in the province on February 5 on account of Kashmir Day.
According to a notification issued by the provincial government, Sindh will observe Kashmir Solidarity Day on Saturday (February 5). Kashmir Day is observed to convey a message of solidarity and support to the people of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJK).
Kashmir issue remains a flashpoint between Pakistan and India, with Islamabad constantly urging the world to hold a plebiscite on the disputed territory. The conflict escalated after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unilateral decision to revoke Article 370 of the Indian Constitution that granted special status to the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
Pakistan condemns extrajudicial killing
Pakistan has strongly condemned the reported extra-judicial killings of five Kashmiris in Pulwama and Budgam in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), reiterating its call for international accountability of Indian forces.
According to reports, Indian troops martyred four young people during a cordon and search operation in the Naira area of Pulwama district and one youth was martyred during an operation in the Chrar-i-Sharief area of Budgam.
Indian forces have intensified arbitrary detentions, night raids, coercion, harassment and humiliation of Kashmiris, along with extra-judicial killings in staged encounters and cordon-and-search operations that are continuing unabated.
“We also reiterate our call to the international community, including the United Nations, to hold India accountable for its gross and systematic human rights violations and crimes against humanity in IIOJK, without further delay,” the Foreign Office Spokesperson said in a press release.
The spokesperson stated that in their unabated reign of terror, the Indian occupation forces had martyred at least 23 Kashmiris in “fake encounters” and so-called cordon-and-search operations in January alone.
He said that Indian forces were relentlessly targeting Kashmiris, especially youth, in the occupied territory and were driven by the far-right extremist Hindutva ideology that provoked and condoned genocide of Muslims.
He maintained that the Indian occupation forces were known to kill innocent Kashmiris in efforts of getting monetary rewards or gallantry medals. The FO spokesperson further said that Pakistan saluted the resilience of the Kashmiri people who continued to stand firm in their “just and peaceful struggle” for their legitimate right to self-determination.
