LAHORE - Government and nongovernment organizations Tuesday showed solidarity with Kashmiris falling victims of Indian brutalities on Human Rights Day.

Reiterating support to Kashmiris in their just struggle for right to self-determination, Punjab Information Minister Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chohan Tuesday came down hard on India for four-month lockdown in Kashmir.

The Punjab government fully supported the observance of black day by people of Occupied Kashmir.

Modi government has crossed all limits of inflicting atrocities on innocent Kashmiri people and Indian Hitler Narendra Modi has usurped basic human rights of unarmed Kashmiri people for the last four months, he added. He said India cannot silence the voice of Kashmiri people by resorting to exploitative measures. He was of the view that silence of international powers on Kashmir.

The LAC arranged a seminar at Alhamra Art Centre, the Mall. During the seminar, participants assured full support to Kashmiri people and highlighted the issue of Indian occupied Kashmir in detail. One of the speakers from Lahore Collage for Women University (LCWU) Samreen Fatima said that if the Muslim countries did not come forward immediately to stop Muslim killing in Kashmir, it would become the greatest human tragedy.

Alhamra Director Arts and Culture Zulfiqar Ali Zulfi also highlighted the Indian atrocities in held Kashmiri and said thousands of Kashmiri children had been martyred, wounded and blinded with pellet guns by the Indian Army.

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Lahore Arts Council Executive Director Ather Ali Khan said that they would celebrate everyday as Kashmir day till their accession to Pakistan.

Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had said that ‘Kashmir is jugular vein of Pakistan’ and the people of Pakistan would not leave Kashmiri brethren alone. He added that Pakistan was standing with Kashmiris at national and international platforms and it would continue its support to Kashmiri people until they get their right to self-determination.

Activists of Youth Forum for Kashmir (YFK) took out a protest rally against human rights violations in occupied Kashmir on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day. YFK Chief organiser Tariq Ehsan Ghauri led the rally which started from Punjab Assembly to Lahore Press Club in which a large number of people including lawyers, traders and students participated.

The participants were carrying banners and placards inscribed with different slogans in the favour of Kashmiris.  They also raised slogans against atrocities of Indian forces. Speaking on the occasion, Tariq Ehsan urged the international community to pressure India to stop state terrorism and solve the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN resolutions. He also condemned the killing of innocent Kashmiris by Indian forces.

Speakers at a seminar, held at the Punjab University (PU) on Tuesday, said that serious violations of human rights were being committed by the Indain army in Occupied Jammu & Kashmir, which was a big question mark on the criminal silence of so-called flag-bearers of human rights in the world.

The seminar was held to mark the International Day for Human Rights by the PU Department of Gender Studies, in collaboration with the Ministry of Human Rights and Christian Care Foundation.

PU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Niaz Ahmad, MPA Mahindar Singh Pal, MPA Ayesha Iqbal, Department of Gender Studies Chairperson Dr Raana Malik, Ministry of Human Rights Director General Lubna Mansoor, Director General Commerce Azhar Iqbal, senior analyst Salman Abid, faculty members and a large number of students participated in the seminar.

Prof Niaz said said: “The UN is useless if it cannot implement its own resolutions on Indian occupied Kashmir.” He said that there had been complete lockdown in the valley for the last 128 days.

MPA Mahindar Singh Pal said that Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) had given the lesson of equality, presenting the best charter of human rights in his speech 1,400 years ago. Therefore, there was no need to make new policies on human rights. He added that India had converted Occupied Kashmir into the largest jail of the world.

Also, the Human Friends Organisation and the National Minority Rights Network joined hands to commemorate the “The International Human Rights Day” with the theme, “Stand up for human rights”.

Sajid Christopher, head of the aforementioned NGOs, urged participants in the event to stand up and raise voice for equal rights for religious minorities and the people of Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

Punjab Human Rights Minister Ijaz Alam Augustine presided over the event where Bishop Azad Martial was the chief guest on the occasion.