Muzaffarabad: Right to Self-Determination Day: APHC-AJK organises rally in Muzaffarabad

Muzaffarabad, January 05 (KMS): All Parties Hurriyat Conference Azad Jammu and Kashmir (APHC-AJK) chapter organised a grand rally in Muzaffarabad on the occasion of Right to Self-Determination Day today.

According to Kashmir Media Service, the APHC-AJK rally started from Shaheed Afzal Guru Chowk, Dumail, in which people from different walks of life participated in large numbers.

The participants of the rally raised slogans in favour of Kashmir’s freedom and right to self-determination and reiterated the resolve that the Kashmiri people will not give up their legitimate, recognized and inalienable right to self-determination under any circumstances.

Addressing the rally, the speakers said on January 5, 1949, the United Nations, through its resolution, gave the people of the Jammu and Kashmir the right to determine their political future through a free, fair and impartial plebiscite, but unfortunately, despite the passage of 78 years, the World Body has failed to fulfill its promise.

The speakers strongly condemned the unconstitutional and illegal steps taken by India on August 5, 2019, saying that the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35-A, the division of the Jammu and Kashmir and its conversion into union territories, was a systematic conspiracy to weaken the right of self-determination of the Kashmiri people. However, they said all these tactics have failed to weaken the courage, determination and struggle of the Kashmiri people.

The speakers said the Kashmiri people are facing the worst state oppression in return for their demand for the right to self-determination. They deplored that lakhs of Kashmiris had been martyred, thousands maimed through violence and hundreds of children had been blinded by pellet guns.

They said systematic efforts are being made to erase the Muslim identity of the state, which is a clear violation of international law and the UN Charter.

The participants and speakers of the rally urged the United Nations and the international community to fulfill the promises made to the Kashmiri people and ensure the immediate implementation of the resolutions of the international organization so that the Kashmiri people can freely decide their political future like other nations of the world.

At the end of the rally, a memorandum was presented to the UN observer mission, which demanded full support for the Kashmiris’ right to self-determination and an end to Indian atrocities.

The participants reiterated their resolve that a peaceful, principled and legal struggle would continue at all levels until the right to self-determination is achieved.

The rally was attended among others by Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Azad Kashmir Chaudhry Lateef Akbar, APHC-AJK Information Secretary Mushtaq Ahmed Butt, Deputy Commissioner of Muzaffarabad Munir Qureshi, Spokesperson of the Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir Shaukat Javed Mir, Chairperson of the Women’s Wing of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference Samia Sajid, Hurriyat leaders Syed Gulshan, Syed Mushtaq Hussain, Mushtaq-ul-Islam, Chairman of the Tehreek-e-Shabab-e-Muslimeen Jammu and Kashmir Munir Konshi, President of APCA Muhammad Ramzan, Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami Muzaffarabad Engineer Abdul Hameed, Syed Karamat Sabzwari, Advocate Sardar Ramzan, Chaudhry Feroz Din, Asif Makhdoomi, President of Seerat Committee Ateeq Kiani, Naseer Mir, Tanzeer Iqbal, Syed Mahmood Shah as well as representatives of political and social figures, student organizations, legal community, youth and civil society..

Meanwhile, a rally was taken out under the auspices of the Pasban-e-Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir in Muzaffarabad was led by Speaker of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly Chaudhry Lateef Akbar, Chairman of Pasban-e-Hurriyat Uzair Ahmed Ghazali, Shaukat Javed Mir, Abdul Razaq Khan Afghani, Azmat Hayat Kashmiri, Yasir Naqvi and others.

A large number of Kashmiri citizens, including women, youth, elders and children, participated in the rally.

The participants of the rally carried banners and placards on which slogans were written against Indian atrocities and military occupation.

The protesters demanded the implementation of the resolution of January 5, 1949 and raised slogans against India’s illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir.

The protesters reached the UN observer office. On this occasion, the speakers said the United Nations should ensure the implementation of its resolutions to resolve the Kashmir dispute.

The January 5 resolution is the best roadmap for settling the Kashmir dispute and the Kashmiri people are waiting for its implementation. They said the Kashmiri people appeal to the United Nations for immediate intervention to achieve freedom and the right to self-determination.

They said the Kashmiri people want to decide their political future through the implementation of the January 5 resolution and called on international human rights organizations to play an effective role in the release of Kashmiri political prisoners imprisoned in different jails of India and the occupied territory.