NNA - To mark “Kashmir Solidarity Day” 5th February 2024, Embassy of Pakistan, Beirut, organized a Zoom Webinar, in which prominent members of civil society, think tanks, academics and leading journalists from print and electronic media, both from Lebanon and Pakistan, participated. 

Ambassador Salman Athar in his remarks underlined the significance of the day for both Pakistanis and Kashmiris all over the world, and said that the day reminds us of the invaluable sacrifices rendered by the people of Jammu and Kashmir for their right to self-determination. The Ambassador also highlighted the atrocities committed by the Indian Security Forces against the innocent Kashmiris in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK). He emphasized that the Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognized dispute and stressed for the need of implementation of the UNSC resolutions in letter and spirit for its resolution.

The other participants underlined that India’s illegal and unilateral actions of                  5 August 2019 in IIOJK were a blatant violation of international law and the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. India has since been engaged in efforts to further entrench these illegal measures through a series of steps aimed at altering the demographic structure and political landscape of IIOJK.  They also highlighted that the Indian Supreme Court’s judgment of 11 December 2023 on the status of IIOJK is another step towards denial of the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination. They also criticized India’s adamant attitude to resolve this longstanding issue.  

In the evening, the Ambassador invited prominent Lebanese media representatives, members of civil society, academia and think tanks at Pakistan House, wherein the participants were briefed about the background of the Kashmir dispute and significance of “Kashmir Solidarity Day”. Furthermore, documentaries, besides a pictorial exhibition, depicting atrocities committed by Indian occupying forces on the people of Jammu and Kashmir were also shown to the guests. 

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