By Manal Abdel Fattah
The Embassy of Pakistan in Cairo organized a symposium entitled “Salute to the Kashmiris’ Just Struggle for Self-Determination” in commemoration of the Day of Solidarity with Kashmir. The ceremony was attended by a large number of intellectuals, members of civil society, media figures, students and members of the Pakistani community.
At the beginning of the ceremony, messages from the Pakistani President, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister on this occasion were read, and pictures were displayed illustrating the ongoing human rights violations in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, which is illegally occupied by India.
The guest speakers, representing Egyptian intellectuals and academia, stressed in their speeches that occupied Jammu and Kashmir is a disputed territory, and that India unilaterally changed its disputed status, noting that the Indian state’s repression continues unabated in occupied Jammu and Kashmir and that the forces of Indian security commits gross human rights violations in the occupied territories.
The speakers urged the need to implement the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, and the Kashmiris must be given the opportunity to exercise their inherent and natural right to self-determination, calling on the guests to strongly condemn the fascist and anti-Kashmiri and anti-Muslim actions of the Indian government by the international community.
The speakers noted that the gross human rights violations committed by the Indian occupation forces in occupied Jammu and Kashmir require urgent attention from the international community.
Ambassador Sajid Bilal expressed his appreciation to the guest speakers for highlighting the Kashmir issue and urging the international community to intervene to end the oppression of the Indian state in occupied Kashmir.
He said that the words delivered by the participants are a manifestation of the strong support of the people of Egypt for our Muslim brothers in occupied Kashmir, noting that the unilateral and illegal action taken by India on August 5, 2019 is a malicious attempt to turn Muslims into a minority in their lands.
The ambassador stated that the Indian Supreme Court ruling issued on December 11, 2023 is another manifestation of India’s desire to undermine the right of the Kashmiri people to self-determination, praising the sacrifices of the brave people of the Islamic Front and the Hurriyat Leadership who made priceless sacrifices in order to achieve the right to self-determination.
The Ambassador reiterated that Pakistan will continue to provide moral, political and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people in every forum and forum so that the people of Kashmir can achieve their natural right to self-determination in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and in accordance with their desires and aspirations.
