NNA - In order to express solidarity with the oppressed kashmiris in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir, besieged by India illegal decision of August 5, a webinar was arranged by the Embassy of Pakistan Beirut. The webinar was attended by Lebanese academia, senior journalists and prominent Pakistanis living in Lebanon. Major speakers at the event included Ms.Zainab Al Saffar, anchor person al mayadeen tv, Beirut, professor Walid Arbid, professor of history and international relations at the Lebanese University, Dr. Haitham Abou Saeed, Commissioner to the International Human Rights Commission for the Middle East, Dr. Imad Rizk, CEO of Istacharia for Strategic Studies and Mr. Shaukat Paracha, anchor Aaj Television.
In his opening remarks, Ambassador Salman Athar gave a brief historical background of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. He emphasized that Kashmir dispute was as old as the Palestinian dispute. The UN security council had adopted several resolutions asking for holding of a free, fair and impartial plebiscite, under the UN auspices, to resolve the dispute. However, instead of holding the plebiscite, to which it agreed in the Security council, India resorted to the military subjugation of the Jammu and Kashmir and has deployed more than 800.000 security forces personnel there. He also shed the light on India’sillegal decision to abrogate the articles 370 and 35A of its constitution and the subsequent wave of repression unleashed by indian army against the innocent kashmiris. He called upon the international community, especially Lebanon, to take notice of the reign of terror let loose in Kashmir by Indian forces and to pledge their support towards the realization of the Kashmiri peoples’ unalienable right to self-determination, as promised to them by the international community seven decades ago.
The speakers likened Kashmir conflict to the Palestinian issue and stressed the importance of finding a solution to the crisis in Kashmir not only by the UN but also by countries that can play the role of mediator between India and Kashmir. They also discussed the Indian attempts to change the demographic pattern in IIOJK and expressed their full support for the kashmiris. The speakers also highlighted that during the past three years kashmiris have suffered the worst human rights violations in IIOJK by Indian occupation forces and unprecedented restrictions on fundamental freedoms. -- Embassy of Pakistan in Beirut
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