By :Raza Malik
Background:
The people of Indian occupied Kashmir intensified their struggle for securing their right to self-determination in 1989 and the mass movement gave sleepless nights to the Indian rulers. In a bid to crush this popular movement, India appointed Jagmohan Malhotra as the Governor of the occupied territory on January 19, 1990, dismissing the government of Farooq Abdullah. Jagmohan was already notorious for his anti-Muslim bias and activities in India. Soon after the appointment of new governor, a reign of terror was unleashed in occupied Kashmir and on the night of January 20, Indian troops molested several women in Srinagar during house raids. As the word about the molestation of the women spread in the morning, thousands of people took to the streets in the city to protest against the brutal action of the troops. The occupation forces resorted to indiscriminate firing on the protesters in Gaw Kadal area of the city, killing over 50 people and injuring hundreds of others. The massacre caused resentment in Pakistan and the following 5th February was declared as a solidarity day all across the country. Since then, every year, the day is being observed to express oneness with the oppressed people of Jammu and Kashmir at the state level.
 Pakistan observes a public holiday on the day. Seminars, conferences and demonstrations are held by the government and people of Pakistan to highlight the important aspects of the Kashmir dispute and the gross human rights violations being perpetrated by Indian troops in occupied Kashmir. The Pakistani and Kashmiri expatriates arrange special events in world capitals to remind the international community that settlement of the Kashmir dispute is imperative for sustainable peace and stability in South Asia. The observance of the Kashmir Solidarity Day conveys a clear message to India that it would have to recognize Kashmiris’ right to choose their fate by themselves as granted by the UN resolutions. It also sends a message to the World Body to fulfill its commitments of holding a plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir for a peaceful resolution of the long-standing Kashmir dispute, which started with the landing of Indian troops in Jammu and Kashmir in 1947.
 Above all, the solidarity day is to reassure the people of Kashmir that they are not alone in their struggle against the Indian illegal occupation of their motherland but every Pakistani stood by them.
Pakistan’s affinity with Kashmiris:
Pakistan’s affinity with the people of Kashmir can be understood in the backdrop of several reasons. Both share strong bonds in respect of religion, geography, culture and aspirations. The worst kind of Indian state terrorism in occupied Kashmir since 1947 has forced hundreds of thousands of Kashmiri people to migrate to Pakistan from the occupied territory and the main driving force behind their freedom movement has been their strong emotional attachment to the country.
The ideological commonality between Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir is evident from the fact that the genuine representatives of Kashmiris had attached the future of the territory with Pakistan by passing a resolution in the meeting of their representative party, Muslim Conference Jammu and Kashmir, in Srinagar on 19th July 1947, whereby it was declared that Jammu and Kashmir would be a part of Pakistan. This development had happened about a month before the creation of Pakistan. The people of occupied Kashmir have time and again showed their attachment with Pakistan by raising the slogans of “Long Live Pakistan” and “We want Pakistan.” Hoisting of Pakistani flags during protest demonstrations has become order of the day. Indian national days are being observed as black days by the Kashmiris.
The matter of fact is that the Kashmir dispute is considered both by Pakistanis and Kashmiris as an unfinished agenda of the partition of the South Asian sub-continent in 1947 and the liberation struggle of the people of Jammu and Kashmir as an inseparable part of Pakistan movement.
The leaders of Pakistan have always represented the Kashmiris’ aspirations and never betrayed the faith reposed on them by the Kashmiri people. It was his commitment to the interests of the people of Kashmir that drove father of the nation, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, to visit Jammu and Kashmir three times before 1947. He had rightly termed Kashmir as the “Jugular Vein” of Pakistan. Former Prime Minister, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, had vowed to wage a thousand-year war for Kashmir. Prime Minister, Mohammad Nawaz Sharif, and the Army Chief, General Raheel Sharif, are forcefully advocating settlement of the conflict over Kashmir in accordance with the Kashmiris’ aspirations in line with the relevant UN resolutions for ensuring durable peace in South Asia. It is a reality that despite being the victim of Indian military aggression for supporting the Kashmiris during the past more than sixty-eight years, Pakistan never gave up its support to the Kashmir cause and continues to advocate resolution of the dispute to the satisfaction of the Kashmiri people.
Indian state terrorism:
On one hand, India wants that Pakistan withdraws its support to the Kashmiri people, while on the other, it has been resorting to the worst kind of state terrorism to suppress the Kashmiris’ just struggle for securing their right to self-determination. Since 1989, when the people of Kashmir gave impetus to their liberation struggle, the unabated Indian barbarism has resulted in the killing of nearly one hundred thousand innocent Kashmiris and disappearance of ten thousand in custody. This phenomenon of killing has rendered over twenty-five thousand women widowed and around a hundred and ten thousand children orphaned. However, India’s all brutal tactics have failed to subdue the liberation sentiment of Kashmiris. During the mass uprising in occupied Kashmir from 2008 to 2010, hundreds of thousands of people hit the streets of Srinagar and other towns of occupied Kashmir with the demand of their right to self-determination. However, instead of respecting the sentiments of these people, Indian troops and police personnel responded with bullets, teargas shells and batons, killing more than 200 innocent people including women and children besides injuring thousand others. New Delhi is staging election dramas in occupied Kashmir to mislead the world opinion about the Kashmir dispute and the prevailing deteriorating human rights situation in the occupied territory. The present Indian government led by Narendra Modi is hell-bent upon the complete integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India and changing the demographic composition of the territory. It has started its efforts of abrogating Article 370 and Article 35 A of Indian constitution that grant special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The Modi government is planning to settle non-Kashmiris in the territory and divide the Kashmiri people on sectarian and communal lines. The objective is to convert Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir into a minority. The deplorable aspect of the matter is that the international community is turning a blind eye to India’s actions in Kashmir resulting in the continued sufferings of the Kashmiri people.
Conclusion:
There is no denying the fact that Jammu and Kashmir is a flashpoint as it involves two nuclear-armed arch-rivals, Pakistan and India. Therefore, it is high time for the world community to realize the sensitivity of the situation. It must take cognizance of India’s unrealistic and intransigent attitude towards the Kashmir dispute. The 5th February is a reminder to the world about the urgency involved in an early resolution of the lingering dispute for the global peace, security and prosperity.