H I E F of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir, NI (M), on Tuesday described recent rhetoric of Indian military leadership as “hollow statements” indicative of their growing frustration vowing that Pakistan Army fully prepared to give a befitting response to any misadventure against Pakistan
A press release from the military s media wing, the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that COAS Gen Asim Munir made the remarks while presiding over the 267th Corps Commanders Conference (CCC) at the General Headquarters
The statement said the forum took serious note of the recent reckless and provocative statements from the Indian military leadership, terming them irresponsible and detrimental to regional stability
While addressing the forum COAS stated: Pakistan Army remains fully prepared to defend the country s sovereignty and territorial integrity These hollow statements from Indian military are indicative of their growing frustration and serve only to divert the attention of their masses and international community from their multiple internal fissures and blatant violations of human rights Any misadventure against Pakistan will be responded with full and resolute force of the state, InshaAllah,” the ISPR reported
The ISPR said that the forum discussed the prevailing situation along the Line of Control (LoC) and the Working Boundary In solidarity with the resilient people
of Kashmir on the eve of Kashmir Solidarity Day (5 February 2025) the forum strongly condemned the continued blatant human rights violations in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK), recognizing them as a grave threat to regional peace and stability
Reiterating Pakistan’s unwavering support for the legitimate struggle of the Kashmiri people for their right to self-determination as enshrined in relevant UN Security Council resolutions the forum emphasized the significance of international engagement in addressing these persistent violations, it added
The participants of the conference also paid profound tribute to the sacrifices made by the Shuhada of the Armed Forces Law Enforcement Agencies and citizens who have laid down their lives in pursuit of peace and stability of their beloved motherland The forum undertook a comprehensive review of the regional and internal security landscape assessing the full spectrum of threats
NA committee urges PTA to expedite S tarlink ’s entr y into Pakistan
Pak Nav y all set for multinational exercise AMAN, D ialogue 2025
Pakistan Fleet emphasized that the growing global participation in Exercise AMAN reflects the international community’s confidence in Pakistan Navy’s role in collaborative maritime security This confidence has led to yet another milestone the introduction of the maiden AMAN Dialogue which will be conducted alongside Exercise AMAN 2025 The AMAN Dialogue will bring together Chiefs of Navies, Coast
Guards, and Defence Forces to exchange views on shared global and regional maritime issues It will serve as a platform for adopting innovative solutions to address the ever-evolving challenges at sea In essence the AMAN Dialogue will merge intellectual discourse with real-time practical experiences in the maritime domain
He further added that Exercise AMAN 2025 will play a vital role in enhancing maritime security and strengthening Pakistan s position as a key maritime player capable of contributing to regional and global peace and shared prosperity while safeguarding its Sea Lines of
COMMENT
Inflation keeps sinking
tH e inflation news for January showed a further decline in the inflation rate, now down to 2 4 percent, down from 4 1 percent in december that was not the only good news for the government, as there was also the agreement by saudi Arabia to defer oil payments for one year this is particularly welcome, considering that the trade figures for January showed a widening of the trade deficit, which reached $13 49 billion, which would put pressure on the rupee in combination with the recent debt repayments which have led to foreign exchange reserves falling two weeks in row the local inflation rate is a problem for the state Bank expects it to fall for a few more months until March after which it will increase one again till next september state is naturally cagey about where it will take interest rates, but with January showing that inflation is still declining, pressure will mount for a further cut in interest rate With a cut of 100 basis points, the interest rate was down to 12 percent from a high of 22 percent at the last meeting of the Monetary Price Committee its next meeting is scheduled on March 25, by which time the February inflation figure will also be available the lowering of the rate may be partially because of a rebasing effect, but there is also an economic slowdown in progress international oil prices are inching upwards again, creating inflationary pressure across the developed world thus suppressing Pakistani exports which are price elastic even as imports are price inelastic though the economy seems to be coming out of the stag flationary cycle in which it was trapped it is now in danger of pure stagnation that is not what the government wants there is clearly a crisis of confidence at work, as the real cost of past inflation has been to make consumers wary of consuming, and investors wary of investing the government should not get nervous, for though the economy is not out of the woods, it is clearly headed in the right direction At the same time, the government has to hope, and ensure by sensible policies, that confidence is restored, price rises are controlled, and incomes rise, in time for the next elections this is all the more essential because the government claims that it is the best economic manager of all
Dedicated to the legac y of late Hameed Nizami Arif Nizami (Late) Founding Editor
M A Niazi Editor Pakistan Today Babar Nizami Editor Profit
Pr e s i d e n t donald trump s shock and awe assault on virtually every major institution in Washington has been to a degree, successful there s a perverse logic behind his radical cabinet appointments, widespread firings and threats to the federal workforce and his seemingly scattershot executive Orders that upset apple-carts up and down the street Like President George W Bush s 2003 shock and awe blitz of Baghdad at the start of the iraq war trump s intent is an overwhelming show of power, hitting on multiple fronts in order to disorient and demoralize his opponents While most of trump’s actions have been focused on the domestic front and have served their purposes he upped the ante by throwing in a few foreign policy zingers for good measure He threatened to take back the Panama Canal to force denmark to sell him Greenland, and to annex Canada to the UsA As reactions from Panama, denmark, and Canada have made clear, none of trump’s foreign policy “tests” and challenges have had the same impact or success as his bullying forays into domestic policy in yet another quixotic foreign policy venture trump threw a bombshell into the middle of the israeli-Palestinian conflict He proposed that before the reconstruction of Gaza could begin it would be necessary to “clean out Gaza ” it’s been reported that in separate conversations with Jordan’s King Abdullah and egyptian President sisi trump pressed both to accept the bulk of Palestinians from Gaza with Albania and indonesia being tapped as backups to resettle others if trump s goal was to shake things up and provoke a reaction, it flopped none of the countries mentioned have agreed to participate in this bizarre scheme And beyond a simple rejection, Palestinians have pretty much ignored trump’s bait largely owing to their preoccupation with the emotional return to their rubble in Gaza s north and with fighting off an increasingly aggressive occupation in the West Bank
Let’s be clear: if phase one of this ceasefire holds and moves on to phases two and three when reconstruction is supposed to begin some serious issues must be confronted For example there are two million homeless Palestinians and hundreds of thousands of demolished homes and buildings it is estimated that it will take at least two or three years to remove or repurpose the rubble and decades to build sufficient housing to accommodate those whose homes have been destroyed if one didn t know trump or his allies in israel one might think he was making a compassionate appeal to neighbors to shelter the homeless Palestinians until Gaza was ready to receive them But that assumption doesn’t pass the smell test for several reasons trump hasn’t given any indication that he is moved by the suffering of the Palestinians What he finds more appealing are the prospects of building a resort on Gaza s shores At the same time netanyahu s coalition has made it clear that they want to evict the Palestinians from Gaza Given this, trump’s
For over a centur y, Palestinians have been pawns played by Western powers and the Zionist movement. They have been dismembered, dispossessed, and dispersed among the nations. Through it all, their national identity and attachment to their lands has only become strong er. Because of this, theyÊve remained a persistent thorn in the side of those who oppress them. ItÊs time for the US to recogniz e this reality and instead of compounding Palestinian suffering, we should develop a humane plan to end IsraelÊs veto over ending the occupation and implementing long-denied Palestinian rights.
India’s repression in Kashmir
TH e commemoration of January 5, as the right of self-determination day, underscores the unfulfilled promise made to the people of Jammu and Kashmir this date is not merely a historical footnote but a solemn reminder of the systematic denial of a fundamental right that was internationally recognized the United nations security Council (UnsC), through various resolutions, guaranteed the Kashmiri people their right to self-determination However decades have passed without any meaningful steps toward its realization the modern world built upon principles of freedom, justice, and sovereignty, continues to turn a blind eye to the plight of the Kashmiris the continued military occupation by india, marked by human rights violations, demographic engineering and political subjugation has only exacerbated the crisis the situation demands an urgent recalibration of international efforts to uphold justice and ensure that self-determination is not rendered a hollow principle, selectively applied based on geopolitical convenience the historical trajectory of Jammu and Kashmir is one of broken promises and brutal suppression the region’s accession to india remains a contested narrative with india basing its claims on an unverified instrument of Accession signed under coercion by the Hindu Maharaja, in direct contravention of the Partition Plan that mandated Muslim-majority regions to join Pakistan the ensuing conflict led to multiple United nations resolutions most notably UnsC resolution 47 (1948) which unequivocally called for a plebiscite under Un supervision However india systematically obstructed all efforts toward this end, instead consolidating its control through unconstitutional measures the unilateral abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35A of the indian Constitution in 2019 was a watershed moment stripping Jammu and Kashmir of its nominal autonomy and accelerating its full-scale integration into india this blatant violation of international law underscored india s disdain for global norms and its commitment to suppressing Kashmiri aspirations Pakistan, a principal party to the dispute, has persistently advocated for the Kashmiri right to self-determination through diplomatic channels but these efforts have been persistently thwarted by india s intransigence and the indifference of powerful international actors the human cost of the ongoing occupation is staggering Over 100,000 Kashmiris have been martyred since the late 1980s and thousands more have disappeared leaving behind grieving families and shattered communities the demographic composition of the region is under systematic assault, with over 4 million domicile certificates issued to non-Kashmiris, in a clear attempt to alter the region’s Muslim-majority status the widespread use of draconian laws such
as the Public safety Act (PsA) and the Armed Forces special Powers Act (AFsPA) grants indian forces near-total impunity enabling arbitrary detentions torture and extrajudicial killings Women have borne the brunt of this occupation, with reports documenting over 11,000 cases of sexual violence, a weaponized tool of state oppression the findings of the Un High Commissioner for Human rights in its 2018 and 2019 reports corroborate these atrocities calling for an independent commission of inquiry a demand that india refuses to acknowledge these systematic human rights violations necessitate a global response, as silence only emboldens further transgressions against the Kashmiri people the geostrategic implications of the Kashmir dispute extend beyond regional politics the dispute remains the primary flashpoint between two nuclear-armed states Pakistan and india with the potential to escalate into a catastrophic conflict india s belligerent rhetoric, coupled with its aggressive military posturing along the Line of Control (LoC), heightens the risk of confrontation Furthermore india’s expansionist ambitions manifesting in its claims over Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan pose a direct threat to Pakistan s sovereignty the international community, particularly the United nations and influential global powers, cannot afford to ignore this volatile situation the principle of self-determination enshrined in international law must be applied consistently rather than being subjugated to political expediency diplomatic mechanisms including the appointment of a Un special envoy and the
establishment of a commission of inquiry, must be actively pursued to break the deadlock and pave the way for a just resolution in line with Kashmiri aspirations the Kashmiri struggle for self-determination is not merely a political dispute but a test of the international community s commitment to justice and human rights the steadfast resistance of the Kashmiri people despite unparalleled repression exemplifies their unwavering resolve for freedom Pakistan s role remains crucial in amplifying their plight on global platforms, ensuring that their sacrifices are not forgotten the Organization of islamic Cooperation (OiC) and other regional alliances must take tangible steps beyond symbolic condemnations the onus is also on global civil society human rights organizations and independent media to counter india s misinformation and expose the ground realities in Jammu and Kashmir
As the world grapples with contemporary challenges of conflict resolution and human rights advocacy, the case of Kashmir stands as a stark reminder of unfinished decolonization the promise made to Kashmiris in 1948 remains unfulfilled and the international community must act decisively to restore their right to self-determination lest history records another instance where justice was sacrificed at the altar of political convenience
The author frequently contributes on issues concerning national and regional security focusing on matters having critical impact in these milieus She can be reached omayaimen333@gmail com
Lack of RTI implementation
Extremism’s root causes
Today is Kashmir S olidarit y Day
An idea that no one likes
Omay
loudly on other issues is a stark reminder of the manipulation and vested interests that dominate modern geopolitics
KA S H M I R Day February 5th has become more than just a symbolic reminder of a long-standing dispute It is an indictment of the world s hypocrisy, a cruel reflection of how global powers preach human rights while ignoring atrocities that continue to unfold in plain sight The brutal occupation of Kashmir is not just a violation of the Kashmiri people s rights but also a glaring reflection of the moral bankruptcy of international institutions, which stand paralyzed in the face of the suffering of millions Kashmir, often described as the world’s most militarized region has been subjected to brutal suppression for decades Yet despite the high-profile geopolitical importance of Kashmir the international community continues to avert its eyes from the humanitarian disaster taking place on the ground While Pakistan’s unwavering commitment to the Kashmir cause is commendable the lack of international resolve on this issue speaks volumes about the global order s selective application of justice This hypocrisy is not just limited to global politics; it undermines the very principles of human rights that these powers claim to uphold Pakistan’s resolve in consistently advocating for Kashmir on global platforms is vital but it cannot undo the damage caused by the negligence of international bodies like the United Nations These organizations, which are tasked with enforcing international peace and human rights, have failed the Kashmiri people miserably The UN’s resolutions on Kashmir have remained toothless and its inability to hold India accountable only deepens the despair of the region s inhabitants Kashmiris have been subjected to an iron grip of oppression, with voices demanding self-determination silenced through brutal force The silence from global powers who speak
The Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has been an active participant in perpetuating the suffering of Kashmiris, with its Hindutva ideology pushing the region to the brink The revocation of Article 370 and Article 35A in 2019 aimed at stripping Kashmir of its special status is one of the most blatant violations of international law and India s own constitution Since that move, Kashmir has been under a suffocating siege, with communication blackouts, arbitrary detentions, extrajudicial killings, and the crushing of any dissent becoming routine These acts of brutality meticulously documented by organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch reveal the true nature of the Indian state under the BJP one that thrives on authoritarianism, suppression, and the disregard for basic human rights
But what’s even more disturbing is the utter hypocrisy displayed by the Western nations which claim to defend human rights and democracy While these countries impose sanctions and restrictions on other states for similar violations, they continue to strengthen their economic and strategic ties with India one of the world’s largest democracies This selective outrage is not only unjust but is a stark betrayal of the values these nations claim to stand for The USA the European Union and other so-called champions of freedom and democracy have all turned a blind eye to the ongoing atrocities in Kashmir The reason for this double standard is glaringly obvious economic interests and geopolitical strategies outweigh the lives of innocent Kashmiris The silence surrounding India s persecution of its Muslim Dalit and Christian populations is equally telling The atrocities in Kashmir bear a striking resemblance to the ongoing genocide in
Gaza Both India and Israel have adopted a similar playbook: militarized occupation, demographic changes media censorship and complete disregard for international condemnation The shared tactics of suppression are eerily similar and the ideologies that underpin them Hindutva in India and Zionism in Israel are both built on a foundation of supremacist ideologies that seek to obliterate indigenous identities in favor of a majoritarian narrative The world’s tepid response to these crises only highlights the uncomfortable reality that human rights in the current global order are often selectively applied based on political convenience The right to self-determination, a principle enshrined in international law, has been instrumental in resolving historical conflicts From the independence of East Timor to the creation
The need for a collective resistance to IndiaÊs occupation of Kashmir has never been more urgent. The global community cannot afford to be silent any longer. Kashmir is not just a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan; it is a humanitarian crisis that demands urgent intervention The continuation of IndiaÊs occupation and its Hindutva-driven agenda must be met with unified condemnation and action
of South Sudan, successful struggles for selfdetermination have proven that when the international community acts with sincerity justice can prevail Kashmir however remains an exception to this trend Despite numerous UN resolutions Kashmiris continue to be denied their fundamental right to self-determination The world s failure to apply the same urgency and commitment to Kashmir that it has to other regions exposes the glaring double standards of global diplomacy The United Nations which was created to uphold peace and human rights has failed Kashmir Despite its multiple resolutions affirming the right of Kashmiris to self-determination, the UN has not taken any substantive action The UN Security Council dominated by major powers with strategic interests in India has repeatedly failed to hold the Indian state accountable Access to Kashmir has been systematically blocked and all attempts at mediation have been dismissed by India This systemic failure calls into question the credibility of international institutions that claim to be the custodians of justice and peace Pakistan has remained resolute in its support for the Kashmiri people despite the internal and external challenges it faces The country s leadership continues to raise the Kashmir issue at every available platform, whether through the UN or in bilateral discussions with key global players However diplomatic engagement alone cannot undo the damage done by the international community s failure to act Pakistan must now recalibrate its strategy by strengthening its alliances with countries like China, Turkey, and Iran, who share its concerns over India’s actions Additionally Pakistan must continue to mobilize its diaspora to create sustained
than real estate tycoons? To Trump and Witkoff, Gaza is not a people’s homeland; it is a development opportunity, a prime
of
coastline waiting to be “repurposed once its inhabitants have been removed Trump has made no secret of how he views Gaza as prime real estate marvelling at its phenomenal location on the sea and its best weather , as though he were surveying land for a luxury resort He does not see Gaza as part of Palestine He does not see it as a homeland belonging to its people He sees it as an untapped opportunity for the
ical legacy on combatting migration, sealing borders, building walls, banning refugees, and treating migration as an existential threat to the US He speaks of asylum seekers in his country as an invasion of criminals who must be stopped and deported Yet when it comes to Palestinians he is the architect of forced migration
This is not just hypocrisy; it is also a reversal of Trump s own deal of the century That plan, despite being overwhelmingly skewed in Israel’s favour, nominally included the establishment of a Palestinian state It recognised Gaza as part of that future state - a weak fragmented entity designed to exist under Israel s thumb Even this illusion of statehood was too much for Trump to uphold By endorsing the forced removal of Gaza s population, he is not just modifying his plan; he is abandoning it altogether The two-state solution, weak and illusory as it was under his vision, has now been erased entirely in favour of the doctrine advocated by Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich: permanent displacement and ethnic cleansing
from Gaza could be sent to Jordan or Egypt, noting that both states had refused, and asking whether pressure such as tariffs may be used to force their hand Trump’s response, dripping with arrogance, was chilling in its certainty: “They will do it They will do it They’re gonna
RELIGIOUS JUSTIFICATION: Back in January 2024, at a far-right conference attended by Israeli government ministers, the future of Gaza was discussed in the most explicit of terms: not reconstruction not occupation but removal The mass transfer of Palestinians from the territory was framed as a divine mandate with the Book of Numbers invoked: But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then shall those that ye let remain of them be as thorns in your eyes, and as pricks in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land wherein ye dwell ” This is not a political strategy; it is biblical warfare It is a declaration that Palestinians in Gaza must not merely be controlled contained or occupied but rather expelled - a continuation of the same ideology that drove the Nakba, and the logic that justified decades of colonisation, dispossession and massacres In addition to meeting Israeli officials during his recent visit Witkoff met Israeli hostages and their families offering sympathy and solidarity No such meetings were held with Palestinian families - not even for show He offered no gestures of concern for the families of thousands of civilians who died in Israel s relentless bombardments, nor for those being starved, displaced and systematically wiped out This is because in Trump’s world, some lives matter, and others are disposable When Witkoff sat down with Israeli officials one thing stood out: his meeting with Smotrich the far-right minister who had been boycotted by the previous US administration for his openly racist eliminationist views Following Trump s announcement that he was asking Egypt and Jordan to take Palestinians from Gaza, Smotrich issued a statement praising “out of the box” solutions Smotrich used the same phrase after meeting Witkoff In other words prepare for ethnic cleansing Trump s team are no longer just tolerating the Israeli far right; they are actively aligning with it The idea of depopulating Gaza - of making life so unbearable that its people have no choice but to leave - has been embedded in Israeli policy for decades
ECHOES OF HISTORY: After 1967 when Israel occupied Gaza then-Prime Minister Levi Eshkol - leader of the so-called left-wing moderates - spoke of emptying out Gaza and working quietly, calmly and se-
cretly” to achieve this goal Eshkol was not alone in this thinking Former Defence Minister Moshe Dayan suggested that only a quarter of Gaza’s population should remain while the rest must be removed from there under any arrangement that s made He was blunt about his ambitions: If we can evict 300 000 refugees from Gaza to other places we can annex Gaza without a problem Eshkol took this even further, believing that deliberate suffering would push Palestinians to leave He laid out his plan in chillingly practical terms: “It’s possible that if we don’t give them enough water they won t have any choice because the orchards will turn yellow and wither Other ministers at the time, such as Yosef Sapir, were even more explicit about their intentions He proposed: “We should take them to the East Bank [of Jordan] by the scruff of their necks and throw them there, and I don’t know who will accept them especially the Gaza refugees Another minister Yigal Allon was equally blunt about the need for mass displacement: We have to handle [overseas migration] as seriously as possible He went on to argue that Sinai could absorb Gaza s entire population: “The entire area of Sinai, and not only El Arish allows for the settlement of all the Gaza refugees and in my opinion we shouldn’t wait We have to begin to settle them These words spoken in 1967 are now being echoed - almost word for wordby Israel s far-right politicians, Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, the latter of whom has called to promote the “voluntary migration” of Palestinians from Gaza; forced transfer repackaged as a humanitarian solution The language has changed The goal remains the same Push them into the sea into the desert - anywhere but here In 1948 1967 or today the policy remains the same: eliminate displace erase
RETURNING HOME: And yet, despite everythingthe bombs, the starvation, the devastation - the people of Gaza are returning Hundreds of thousands have
BATTLEGROUND DELHI
Today is Kashmir Solidarity Day
Majid Nabi burfat
Human rights on trial: The K ashmir c ase
Once known as a paradise on earth the sieged valley of occupied Kashmir, strongly challenges the notion of the universality of human rights With over 900,000 Indian occupation soldiers having unlimited powers including the ability to kill abduct torture and humiliate life in the region is far from ordinary Looking at the miserable situation the Kashmiris have been subjected to for decades, the "universality" of human rights comes under question
The genesis of the dispute dates back to the partition of the subcontinent into Pakistan and India back in 1947 According to the partition principle, the Muslim-majority areas were to constitute an independent state of Pakistan while the Hindu-majority areas were to join India The state of Kashmir was overwhelmingly a Muslim-majority state but under a local Hindu ruler However, in October 1947, Indian forces invaded and occupied the area in a flagrant violation of the partition formula and the
wishes of the Kashmiri people
Grasping the pulse of the Kashmiri resolve to resist against the Indian occupation, India took the matter to the United Nations Security Council, which after thorough deliberations passed resolutions calling for a peaceful solution by organizing a referendum in the Jammu and Kashmir region so that the people are able to decide their future themselves However, knowing that the will of the people was against occupation India retracted its commitments given to the Kashmiris and the international community Since then India has been employing all possible tactics one after the other, to prolong its illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir
Even after more than 76 years, the unlawful measures of the Indian authorities to consolidate their occupation of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and persistent suppression of the rights of the people of IIOJK continue with impunity Furthering consolidating its illegal occupation and in complete disregard for international norms and agreements
India revoked Articles 370 and 35A of its Constitution on August 5 2019 The plot behind the illegal action taken on Aug 5, 2019, is to engineer demographic and political changes in the occupied territory to convert Kashmiris into a disempowered minority in their own land thus drowning out the Kashmiris demand for freedom and self-determination Therefore, now in addition to enduring the world s biggest and most unrestrained occupation army the Kashmiris must confront a direct attack designed to make them a minority in their own land India has given a carte blanche to its occupation forces to unleash a reign of terror in the besieged territory There are reams of reports from credible human rights organizations detailing these violations which cover the spectrum from extra-judicial killings custodial deaths involuntary disappearances, arbitrary detention, torture, degrading punishments, rape and molestation, collective punishment to curtailment of the right to freedom of expression and religion and belief
AHSAN ANSARI
Throughout history, many nations have struggled for their freedom and rights According to the United Nations Charter the right to selfdetermination is a fundamental right of every nation, allowing them to decide their political, social, and economic future However history has also taught us that international laws and agreements alone are not enough; rather the determination of the people continuous resistance, and global support play a crucial role in the success of any movement At the time of the partition of the Indian subcontinent, the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir was an autonomous entity covering an area of 69 547 square miles After the end of British rule in 1947, a dispute arose between India and Pakistan, leading to the division of Kashmir into two parts: Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (Illegally Occupied Kashmir) covering 39 102 square miles with Srinagar as its capital Pakistan-ad-
the first war between India and Pakistan which ended in 1949 after UN mediation establishing the Line of Control (LoC) In 1948 the United Nations passed Resolution 47, granting Kashmiris the right to self-determination through a plebiscite to choose between India or Pakistan However, India ignored this resolution and continued its illegal occupation of Kashmir imposing military control over the region Today over 1 million Indian troops are stationed in Indian-occupied Kashmir, making it one of the most militarized regions in the world Due to India's brutal laws and military actions the basic human rights of Kashmiris continue to be violated On August 5 2019 India revoked Article 370 and 35A of its Constitution, stripping Kashmir of its special status Through this move, India illegally annexed Jammu and Kashmir into its union For more than five months Kashmir was placed under complete lockdown with the internet and communication networks shut down and Kashmiri leaders imprisoned Februar y 5 – K ashmir S olidarity D ay
ministered Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan covering 25 000 square miles with Muzaffarabad as its capital The current population of Kashmir is approximately 13 million, with 80% of them being Muslims Several UN resolutions explicitly state that the people of Kashmir should be given the right to decide their future However due to India s intransigence and the global community s silence this issue remains unresolved to this day In 1846, under the Treaty of Amritsar, the British sold Jammu and Kashmir to Maharaja Gulab Singh for 7 5 million Nanak Shahi rupees placing the region under Dogra rule The Kashmiri people suffered under oppression during this period, and Muslims were treated as second-class citizens At the time of the Partition of India in 1947 Maharaja Hari Singh announced Kashmir s accession to India on October 26 1947 despite the Muslim-majority population s desire to join Pakistan This led to
SAYYIDAH KAUSAR FATIMA
PAKISTAN OBSERVES NATIONWIDE HOLIDAY IN SUPPORT OF K ASHMIR STRUGGLE TODAY
Pre s i d e nt Z a rd a r i a r r i ve s i n C h i n a o n f i ve - d ay o
President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday arrived in China on a five-day official visit on the invitation of Chinese President
Jinping He was accompanied by a delegation comprising Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Senator Saleem Mandviwala, and Dr Asim Hussain President Zardari was warmly received by Chinese Finance Minister Lan Fo’an Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Khalil Hashmi and Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong, on his arrival at the Beijing International Airport
During the visit, the president will hold meetings with President Xi Jinping Premier Li Qiang and other
senior Chinese political leaders
The two sides will discuss matters of mutual interest including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), regional connectivity, and security cooperation On the special invitation of the Chinese government President Zardari will attend the inaugural ceremony of the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin Heilongjiang province President Zardari s visit to China is significant in further strengthening the Pakistan-China relations, with a specific focus on enhanced bilateral trade and commerce ties
