PM Shehbaz salutes Kashmiri people for withstanding Indian attempts of subjugation n Directs economic team to speed up FBR transformation Says fast-paced work in progress on second phase of CPEC.  Pays tribute to police martyrs.

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE  -  As Youm-i-Istehsal is being marked today on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of India’s revoking Kashmir’s special status and to show solidarity with Kashmiris, Pakistan has reiterated to continue to extend its strong moral, political and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people till the realization of their inalienable right to self determination.

On August 5, 2019, India’s Narendra Modi-led government stripped the Muslim-majority territory of its special status by repealing Article 370 of the constitution, splitting the former state into two territories directly ruled by New Delhi.

Through the revocation of the said article, people from the rest of India gained the right to acquire property in Indian-held Kashmir and settle there permanently. Kashmiris, as well as critics of India’s Hindu nationalist-led government, saw the move as an attempt to dilute the demographics of Muslim-majority Kashmir with Hindu settlers.

In response to the controversial move, the government of Pakistan designated 5 August as Youm-e-Istehsal, starting in 2020. This day is now observed annually in Pakistan as a reaction to the status change.

In his message on the occasion, President Asif Zardari said, “Today marks the completion of five years of India’s latest campaign to consolidate its illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir. On this day, five years ago, India took a number of unilateral and unlawful steps in IIOJK to undermine its internationally recognised disputed status. “

“The continued presence of hundreds of thousands of Indian troops has turned IIOJK into one of the most heavily militarized zones in the world. The gross human rights violations in IIOJK have been documented extensively and condemned globally. The mistreatment of Kashmiri journalists and human rights defenders has further revealed India’s willingness to go to any lengths to silence dissenting voices.  India would not succeed in suppressing the just struggle of the people of IIOJK through domestic legislation and judicial verdicts,” he added.

“Pakistan, for its part, will continue to extend full moral, diplomatic and political support to the just struggle of the people of Jammu and Kashmir for the realization of their inalienable right to self-determination, as enshrined in the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions,” he added.

In his separate message, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that this somber occasion reminds us of the grave consequences of India’s illegal actions of 5 August 2019 vis-à-vis IIOJK.”

Harassment of innocent people, arbitrary detentions, and the so-called ‘cordon and search operations have become a matter of routine. The Indian forces are operating with impunity, according to them under different draconian laws,” he added.

He said, “I, however, salute the indomitable courage of the Kashmiri people that has enabled them to withstand every Indian attempt to subjugate them. There is no doubt that India’s coercive methods have failed to diminish their yearning for the realization of their inalienable right to self-determination.”

This year, discussions related to the commemoration of the day were held at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif. The meeting was attended by federal ministers and senior government officials who briefed the PM about preparations.

“A joint main event of Pakistani and Kashmiri leadership has been approved for the day, with Prime Minister Shehbaz expected to visit Muzaffarabad on August 5 to “show solidarity with Kashmiris”, a post from PTV News said on the X platform. The post added that the premier will “give an important policy statement” on Youm-i-Istehsal.

Other plans for Youm-i-Istehsal include a special walk to mark the day, as well as ceremonies across all provinces, Azad Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan.

The PTV News post added that special broadcasts will be aired to commemorate the sacrifices of Kashmiris and highlight alleged human rights violations by India in the territory.

“Youm-i-Istehsal will highlight the conflict in Jammu and Kashmir, violations of the fundamental rights of Kashmiris and India’s breach of promises,” the PML-N said in a post on X.

Earlier this week, Pakistan called on the international community to pressure India to restore the special status of Indian-held Kashmir, end repression in the Valley and foster conditions conducive to resolving the longstanding dispute threatening regional stability.

The call was made during a briefing for Islamabad-based foreign diplomats at the Foreign Office on Friday, where Foreign Secretary Syrus Sajjad Qazi detailed the conditions in the Indian-held disputed territory and discussed the repercussions of India’s actions of August 2019, from the standpoints of international law, human rights, and peace and security.

Meanwhile, the prime minister set a target for his economic team to speed up the process of transformation of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

He was chairing a review meeting on Track and Trace System of FBR in Lahore.

The total digitization and restructuring of FBR according to modern standards was part of the transformation plan.

He delegated responsibility to Minister of State for Finance to oversee the transformation project of FBR.

The prime minister was presented a detailed report regarding the track and trace system and on progress of digitization of FBR.

He directed immediate action against the persons responsible for deficiency and irregularities regarding the track and trace system. He directed immediate implementation of steps for taking action against the officials negligent in upgrading the system. The prime minister said that reforms in FBR were necessary to improve the tax system of Pakistan, adding, “We will work day and night to save every penny of the poor people of Pakistan.”

Shehbaz Sharif said that digitization of FBR was main priority of the government and no disruption was acceptable in this regard.

Federal ministers Muhammad Aurangzeb, Ahad Khan Cheema, Minister of State Ali Pervaiz Malik, Coordinator of Prime Minister Ihsan Afzal and high level officials attended the meeting.

Meanwhile, a seven-member delegation of journalists, who returned from an official visit to China undertaken on the invitation of government institution China Public Diplomacy Association, called on the prime minister here.

During the meeting, Shehbaz Sharif said that work was progressing fast on the second phase of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and there was positive momentum on further promotion of cooperation with China in different fields during visit of Chinese experts to Pakistan.

He said that China was sincere friend which helped Pakistan on every difficult occasion.

He urged that all stakeholders should rise above politics to work together on the national development projects like China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

He said he was thankful to the Chinese leadership and people on the exemplary hospitality shown during his recent visit to China. He told that he himself was monitoring the progress on the memorandums of understanding and agreements after the visit to China.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif also paid tribute to the martyred police officers and personnel and said that their sacrifices in line of duty and eradication of crimes were unprecedented.

On the Youm-e-Shuhada-e-Police, the prime minister said that the day reminded them of the valour and bravery displayed by the police force.

“In the fight against terrorism, the police force had always played a leading role and police personnel laid down their lives to secure and brighten the future of nation,” PM Office Media Wing, in a press release in Urdu language, quoted the prime minister as saying.

He further said that the entire nation was proud of its martyred police personnel and saluted them on their sacrifices.

The prime minister said that it was the government’s responsibility to look after the bereaved families of Shaheed police officers and personnel and reiterated that no leniency in this regard would be tolerated.

The prime minister assured that the federal government would take all possible steps for the provision of education and health facilities to the children of shuhada, adding that the bereaved families would be taken care of in every possible way.

The prime minister further recollected that during his tenure as chief minister of Punjab, he and announced a big and historic package for the martyred police personnel.