Pakistan High Commission in Ottawa and the three Consulates General in
Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver observed the Kashmir Solidarity Day today to express
solidarity with the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJ&K) in
their just struggle for exercising the right to self-determination in accordance with the
relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions. The event was attended by
members of the Pakistani community and friends of Pakistan and the Kashmir cause.
Special Messages of the President, the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime
Minister/Foreign Minister of Pakistan on the occasion were also read out to the
audience. Moreover, documentaries on Kashmiris' struggle were screened and
broadcast on social and local electronic and ethnic media. Informational material
highlighting the plight of the Kashmiri people in IIOJK was also distributed. A series of
programmes were arranged including pictorial exhibition and media interaction to
highlight the human rights violations in the IIOJ&K and to express solidarity with
Kashmiris facing the worst kind of oppression under illegal Indian occupation.
Speaking on the occasion, High Commissioner Muhammad Saleem reiterated
that the Kashmiris in IIOJK have endured relentless repression including extrajudicial
killings, arbitrary detentions, communication blackouts and forced demographic
changes. He paid ride tribute to the resilience and courage of the Kashmiri people in
IIOJK in the face of prolonged hardships. He reiterated Pakistan’s principled position
that a peaceful and lasting resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute can only be
achieved through implementation of relevant UN Security Council Resolutions and in
line with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people in IIOJK through holding free and fair
plebiscite.
The High Commissioner stressed the urgent need for the international
community to play its due role in ensuring justice and accountability. He renewed the
call upon the international community to uphold international law, the respect for human
rights and securing a just, durable and peaceful settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir
dispute by persuading India to implement the UN Security Council Resolutions.
