Kashmir, Pakistan Observe Self Determination Day

Kashmiris on Sunday commemorated the right to self-determination across both Pakistani and Indian-administered sides of Jammu and Kashmir.

A rally was organized in Muzaffarabad, the capital city of Pakistan-administered Kashmir also known as Azad Jammu and Kashmir, with demonstrators demanding the UN implement its resolutions and settle the Kashmir dispute.

Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir Raja Farooq Haider also participated in the rally.

"Kashmiris will get the freedom and We will fight till last breath," Haider told the gathering.

Another major event held at a sports complex in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, where hundreds people -- including senior officials and lawmakers -- gathered in solidarity with the Kashmiris.

"This year we are observing this day when our brothers and sisters are under continued military siege on the 154th consecutive day, today," Abdul Hamid Loon, a senior leader of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference in Pakistan, told Anadolu Agency.

Indian-administered Kashmir has been under lockdown since Aug. 5, when New Delhi abolished the special status of the region.

On Jan. 5, 1949, the UN Security Council passed a resolution supporting the Kashmiris' right to decide their future by themselves through UN-sponsored plebiscite.

Messages from Pakistani leadership

In a statement, Pakistani President Arif Alvi said the people of Kashmir were being subjected to collective punishment by Indian forces who have converted the territory into the largest militarized zone in the world.

"The current situation in occupied Kashmir is the worst in recent history where people have been deprived of their fundamental rights, including right to life, food, health, freedom of expression and assembly," Alvi said.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said this day reminds the international community, especially the UN, of the imperative of honoring its commitment towards the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

"The importance of the inalienable right to self-determination has been acknowledged in all important human rights Covenants and decisions of the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council. Due to Indian intransigence, the Security Council has failed to fulfill its pledge to the Kashmiri people," Khan said in his message.

Around 900,000 Indian forces have converted the region into the largest prison in the world, Khan added.

Khan reaffirmed his country's support to the Kashmiri people and said: "Our strong and steadfast moral, political and diplomatic support for the Kashmiri people will continue till the realization of their inalienable right to self-determination."

Disputed Region

Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.

Since they were partitioned in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- two of them over Kashmir.

Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.

According to several human rights organizations, thousands of people have reportedly been killed in the conflict in the region since 1989. -