Message from President of Pakistan on Kashmir Solidarity Day (5 February 2020)

Today, we express our solidarity with the brave and resilient people of Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir who have rendered unmatched sacrifices for their legitimate right to self-determination over the course of the 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.

On 5 August, India absolved itself of the last pretense of civility and justice by trying to deprive the Kashmiri people of their very identity. Through its illegal and unilateral action of 5 August 2019, India directly contravened the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions and tried to further brutalize the Kashmiri people and take additional measures to deny them their legitimate right to self-determination as promised by the international community through those Resolutions. The world, however, has rejected India’s treacherous behavior and its sham democracy now stands exposed in front of the international community.

Pakistan will continue to raise the issue of Jammu & Kashmir at every available forum. India’s illegal actions of August 5 have further strengthened the bond between the people of Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir and Pakistan. The Government and the people of Pakistan will continue to extend their political, moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people until they get their legitimate right to self-determination as per the United Nations Security Council Resolutions.