ISLAMABAD, Feb 4 (APP):Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan Tuesday said women from all walks of life would hold a rally in front of the office of United National Human Rights Commissioner (UNHCR) in Islamabad to express solidarity with their brave sisters and children of the Indian Occupied and Jammu Kashmir (IOJ&K) enduring Indian atrocities for many years.
Addressing a press conference here on the eve of Kashmir Solidarity Day being observed Wednesday, she said the participants of the rally would present a resolution to the UNHCR , seeking international community’s intervention to stop Indian tyranny on the Kashmiri women and children.
She urged the women, including parliamentarians, members of civil societies and working journalists, to gather before the Foreign Office along with their children at 10.30 am to express solidarity with the Kashmiri children deprived of all fundamental rights of education, health etc.
Dr Firdous said the gathering would be apolitical as she personally invited all the female parliamentarians, including opposition members, to take part in the rally. The women would also make a human chain on the occasion to express solidarity with the Kashmiri women, who had been victimized by the Indian occupation forces, using rape as a weapon of war.
She said the observance of solidarity day on Wednesday would give a message to the international community that Pakistan would continue its support for the cause of Kashmiris and nobody could deny them their right to self-determination.
The special assistant said the same national narrative on Kashmir was deepened in the heart of every Pakistani. Pakistan was incomplete without Kashmir as it was termed its jugular vein by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
She said various activities had been organized all over the country, including Azad Jammu and Kashmir, to express solidarity with the IOJ&K people and shake the world’s conscience for an end to the Indian subjugation of the valley.
Dr Firdous said it was the media’s responsibility to play its due role in highlighting the plight of Kashmiris by giving extensive coverage to the events being held in every nook and cranny of Pakistan on the Kashmir Solidarity Day.
He said the Palestinian ambassador, in a meeting with her today, lauded the efforts of Pakistan for fighting the case of Kashmiri and Palestinian people at every level. The Palestinian diplomatic core and embassy staff would fully participate in the Kashmir solidarity’s events being held in Islamabad.
The Palestinian ambassador, she said, also eulogized the role of Prime Minister Imran Khan in uniting the Muslim Ummah.
She said the prime minister was advocating the cause of Kashmiris as their ambassador and for the first time in the country’s history, the issue had been internationalized.
Dr Firdous said the prime minister had wrapped up his two-day visit to Malaysia, which was aimed at uniting the Ummah, strengthening bilateral ties and resolving the issues faced by the region. The role of Ummah for the resolution of Kashmir issue also came under discussion during the visit, she added.
The prime minister’s visit, she said, would not only promote bilateral trade between two countries, besides creating investment opportunities. The transfer of technology from Malaysia would support the ‘Digital Pakistan’ initiative, she added.
The SAPM said Prime Minister Imran Khan was spearheading the initiative to dispel the negative perception of Islam around the world and the forthcoming visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Pakistan would help evolve a joint comprehensive communication strategy (among three countries – Malaysia, Turkey and Pakistan) to counter so-called Islamophobia.
She said the Information Ministry was working out a road-map to disseminate a true positive image of Islam and provide a platform to ensure the Ummah’s connectivity.
To a query, she said with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) taking charge of the government, the Kashmir issue had been internationalized. It had compelled the international community to take cognizance of human right violations in the IOJ&K.
Terming the Kashmir issue an unfinished agenda, she said the United Nations Security Council’s sessions on the matter had proved that the IOJ&K was a disputed territory. For the first time, a resolution against Indian atrocities in the IOJ&K had been moved in the European Parliament, while the matter also came under discussion at the French Parliament, she added.
The special assistant on the occasion handed over two cheques of Rs 0.5 million to the brother of Fayaz, a private news channel cameraman, who died of heart attack for not being paid for almost a year. As per her promise, she also gave him an appointment letter for a job in the Information Ministry.
Another cheque of Rs 0.5 million would be given to the deceased’s family after opening of a joint account by them, Dr Firdous said.
The brother of Fayaz thanked the SAPM for fulfilling her promise.
