Protesters hold placards during a demonstration to mark Kashmir Solidarity Day in Lahore on Wednesday. Agence France-Presse

Tariq Butt / Agencies

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said that he has no doubt that the move of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the annexation of Kashmir will ultimately lead to its independence.

Imran addressed a special session of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly in Muzaffarabad (Azad Kashmir) to mark the day.

As the nation observed Kashmir Solidarity Day to express support for the people of the valley and their inalienable right to self-determination under the United Nations resolutions, the premier said the occasion is being observed to reaffirm support for Kashmiris who have been “subjected to an inhuman lockdown and communications blockade for six months now.”

The premier said he believed occupied Kashmir would achieve independence as a result of the action Modi had taken in the region on Aug.5, 2019.

“If he had not taken that step, we could not have said anything to the world,” the premier said, adding that prior to the events of August 2019, no one was paying attention to Indian atrocities in the valley.

“On that day Modi made a fatal mistake, one that he could not step back from,” the prime minister said.

“Hopefully Kashmir will now move towards independence,” Imran said. “Our job now is to inform the world about what is happening in the valley on all forums,” he added.

Pakistanis have come out in droves on streets and avenues across the country to participate in rallies and make human chains on the occasion of Kashmir Solidarity Day being observed on Wednesday.

Human chains were formed at Kohala, Mangla, Holar and Azad Pattan points linking Pakistan and Azad Kashmir. Meanwhile, in the federal capital, citizens formed a human chain at D-Chowk in Islamabad.

Various rallies, public meetings and seminars were held across Pakistan on the occasion. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and Governor Imran Ismail attended a rally in Karachi.

State-owned Pakistan Post on Wednesday issued a special commemorative postage stamp to mark Kashmir Solidarity Day with strong message “We Stand with Kashmir.”

The commemorative postage stamp has denomination of Rs20 and went on sale at all post offices across the country.

Annually, Feb.5 is observed as a day of solidarity with Kashmiris. This year, however, it comes after India stripped the region of its special status and imposed a lockdown.

The Indian government had on Aug.5, 2019, repealed Article 370 of its constitution, stripping occupied Kashmir of its special status. It also divided up occupied Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories; one Jammu and Kashmir, and the other the Buddhist-dominated high altitude region of Ladakh. The bifurcation of the territory came into effect on Oct.31 last year.

In his message on the occasion, President Dr Arif Alvi said the nation is expressing solidarity with the people of occupied Kashmir “who have rendered unmatched sacrifices for their legitimate right to self-determination over the course of past seven decades in an indomitable struggle for freedom from oppression.”

“It has been a battle of hope against overwhelming odds, of courage against fear, and of sacrifice against tyranny; but through all of it, the Kashmiri people have persisted, unrelenting and proud like they have always been, to deny India the perverse gratification of subjugating them,” he said.

Alvi said that Pakistan will continue to extend “political, moral and diplomatic support” to Kashmiris until they are given their legitimate right to self-determination as per the UNSC resolutions.

In his message, the prime minister said Kashmirs, the Ummah, Pakistan as well as the international community have rejected “India’s travesty of law and justice.”

“India has turned 8 million Kashmiris into prisoners in their own land through the deployment of over 900,000 occupation troops. History has few precedents of such suffocation and violation of the fundamental rights at this scale. Tens of thousands of innocent people have been arbitrarily detained and thousands of young boys abducted and incarcerated at undisclosed locations. “This is a true manifestation of Indian state-terrorism.”