The people of Indian-occupied Kashmir have paid rich tributes to the Pakistani martyrs of the 1965 war on Pakistan Defence Day. In statements issued in Srinagar, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leaders said that when India challenged the existence of Pakistan in 1965, the Pakistani armed forces and the entire nation stood like a leaden wall in front of India's aggression and thwarted its nefarious designs. The APHC leaders said that India had illegally occupied the Muslim-majority state of Jammu and Kashmir in 1947 and since then has been denying the right to self-determination to Kashmiris and also killing them for demanding this right. They said that Pakistan is a great advocate of Kashmiris' right to self-determination. They said the Kashmir dispute is the basic cause of tension between Pakistan and India.

They added that the relations between the two countries cannot become normal without settling this dispute in accordance with the UN resolutions. The APHC leaders said that Jammu and Kashmir is a natural part of Pakistan and its one part is under illegal occupation of India where the Kashmiri people have been struggling to free it from the Indian clutches since 1947. They said Kashmiris and Pakistanis share strong religious, historical, cultural and geographical bonds and no power on earth can stop Kashmir's genuine demand to become part of Pakistan. They maintained that the Kashmir movement is in fact the continuation of the Pakistan Movement as Pakistan will only be complete when the entire Jammu and Kashmir becomes its part.

The APHC leaders said that the founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, had rightly called Kashmir the jugular vein of Pakistan. The statements by the APHC leaders came as Pakistan is observing Defence Day on September 6. The day commemorates the sacrifices made by the Pakistani armed forces in the 1965 war with India. The war broke out on September 6, 1965, after India launched a surprise attack on Pakistani positions in the Rann of Kutch. The war lasted for 17 days and ended in a stalemate.

The APHC leaders' statements are a reminder of the ongoing Kashmir conflict, which has been unresolved for over 70 years. The conflict has caused widespread suffering and loss of life, and has destabilized the region. The international community has a responsibility to help resolve the Kashmir conflict in a just and peaceful manner. This would be in the interests of all parties involved, and would help to promote peace and stability in the region.

 
Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)