Kashmir Solidarity Day

In observance of Kashmir Solidarity Day, Embassy organized a media seminar in a local hotel on 6 February 2019 (5th February was a public holiday in the Philippines to celebrate Chinese New Year). The participants comprised of publishers, editors, columnists, anchors and representatives of the Philippines’ mainstream print, electronic and social media houses including Manila Times, BusinessMirror, Manila Bulletin, Manila Standard, The Inquirer, ABS- CBN News Channel, Global News Network (GNN) and Eagle Broadcasting Corporation (EBC). Members of Philippines Ambassadors Foundation Inc. (a think- tank for policy inputs to Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs) and International Relations Department of the University of the Philippines also attended the Seminar.

Solidarity Messages of the President and the Prime Minister with the people of Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir were read out to the audience. The text of Kashmir Solidarity Resolution passed during the International Conference on Jammu & Kashmir in the British Parliament held on 4 February 2019 was shared with the participants. An 18 minutes coverage of the Conference was shown to the guests containing excerpts of keynote speech of the Foreign Minister.

In his remarks, the Ambassador paid tribute to the resolve of Kashmiri people against Indian oppression and stated that theirsacrificesfor the freedom struggle will not go waste. He highlighted the increasing support of international community to Kashmir Cause and underscored the salient points of recent reports of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR), OIC Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission(IPHRC) and All Parties Parliamentary Kashmir Group of UK Parliament (APPKG), all of which loudly condemned human rights violation by India in the Occupied Kashmir. He stated that international conscience had awakened in testimony of Pakistan’s legitimate stance on the Kashmir dispute, which was an unfinished agenda of Indian Sub- Continent’s partition in 1947, and the UN resolutions on this issue giving Kashmiri people right to decide their fate in a UN supervised plebiscite could no longer be ignored. He sensitized the audience that the Indian leaders and governments had given commitment to the Kashmiri people and world at large of holding the plebiscite allowing the Kashmiri people to exercise their inalienable right to self- determination. However, despite lapse of more than seven decades, India had reneged on its promises of implementing UN resolutions with impunity and continues to deny the Kashmiris their legitimate rightto self- determination.

While reaffirming Pakistan’s continued moral, political and diplomatic support to the legitimate cause of the Kashmiri people,the Ambassador appealed to the gathering for raising voice against brutalities of Indian security forces against innocent Kashmiris in IoK, and demanded immediate correct action by the international community.

The audience expressed solidarity with the Kashmiri people in their comments and hoped that the international community would be able to prevail upon India to cease the ongoing human rights violation in IoK and create a conducive environment for holding the promised plebiscite under UN auspices.

The full details of the successful International Conference on Jammu & Kashmir held in the British Parliament on 4 February 2019 have also been shared with the Foreign Ministry of the Philippines.

Manila,
06 February 2019