Special Event to mark Kashmir Solidarity Day held at Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in Sarajevo

To mark the Kashmir Solidarity Day (05 February), a special event was held at the Embassy of Pakistan in Sarajevo. The event was attended by members of Pakistani and Kashmiri diaspora resident in Bosnia & Herzegovina.

During the event, H.E. Maj Gen Akhtar Jamil Rao HI (M) (Retd), Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to Bosnia &Herzegovina and the Republic of Croatia, addressed the audience and highlighted significance of the Kashmir Solidarity Day for Pakistanis and Kashmiris across the world. Ambassador Rao underscored that Kashmir Solidarity Day marked an important occasion for reiteration of the world’s commitment towards Kashmiris in the IIOJK as well as for paying tribute to their undeterred resilience and just struggle for the right to self-determination. He stated that over three years-and-a-half had passed since 05 August 2019 when India took unilateral and illegal actions aimed at altering the internationally recognized disputed status of IIOJK and changing the demographic structure of the occupied territory. Since then, India had doubled down its atrocities in IIOJK in stark and blatant violation of the UN Charter, 04th Geneva Convention as well as various UN resolutions on Kashmir. Ambassador Rao stated that over the past seven decades, the Indian Occupation Forces have persisted with their agenda of settler colonialism in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK). This pernicious agenda is being carried forward by India through genocidal war crimes and state terrorism of unprecedented proportions across IIOJK. The gravity of the human rights situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) can be gauged from the fact that since 1947, Indian Occupation Forces (IOFs) have massacred over 400,000 innocent Kashmiris; subjected more than 30,000 people to the worst kinds of torture including water-boarding, forced-starvation, sleep deprivation and burning of bodies; raped and molested more than 3,850 Kashmiri women. Some other marks of India’s horrendous activities in IIOJK include identification of 8,652 unmarked mass graves; enforced disappearances of 10,000 Kashmiris; and use of pellet guns on innocent Kashmiris.

Ambassador Akhtar Jamil Rao stated that on the Kashmir Solidarity Day, Pakistan calls upon the international community to hold India accountable for all its misdeeds and crimes against humanity. He added that the key to durable peace in South Asia was resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people. Ambassador Rao emphasized that the international community, international human rights organizations, and particularly the United Nations and its human rights mechanism should take cognizance of the human rights violations being committed by Indian Occupation Forces in the IIOJK and ensure peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UNSC resolutions as well as the wishes of the Kashmiri people.

During the above event, a special documentary on Kashmiri was also screened. In addition, a photo exhibition to mark Kashmir Solidarity Day was also held at this occasion.