Student activists display placards during a rally to mark Kashmir Solidarity Day in Lahore. Photo: AFP
ISLAMABAD:
The federal government on Monday announced February 5 as a public holiday to mark Kashmir Solidarity Day.
The announcement was made in a press release from the Cabinet Secretariat stating that a minute’s silence would be observed across the country at 10 am in remembrance of the Kashmir martyrs.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange also informed market participants that it would remain closed for the holidays.
The origins of this day date back to the early 1990s, when it was first proposed by Qazi Hussain Ahmad.
The annual celebration is used by successive governments to reaffirm their support for Kashmiris in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, and to amplify Pakistan’s long-standing call for a settlement consistent with United Nations resolutions.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the day was a reminder to the world and a show of solidarity with Kashmiris for their right to self-determination. The government information department also linked the day to UN Security Council resolutions calling for a plebiscite.
Read: Pakistan calls for UN-backed Kashmir plebiscite
Kashmir Solidarity Day is typically marked with rallies, seminars, peace marches and candlelight vigils, including events in Islamabad and across the country, as well as Azad Jammu and Kashmir. In recent years, this day has included human chains at key connection points such as Kohala.
Civic groups and members of the Kashmiri diaspora also used the day to keep international focus on Kashmir, reiterating their calls for a UN-backed vote on the region’s future.
