Kashmiris Worldwide Slam Pakistan's "Fraudulent Solidarity" on Kashmir Day

Pakistan's annual effort on Thursday to present itself as a champion of Kashmir faced international backlash after Kashmiris and Pakistani dissidents across Europe condemned Islamabad's so-called "Solidarity Day" as a propaganda campaign intended to conceal decades of "violence, repression, and demographic manipulation".

"From the United Kingdom to Belgium, protesters rejected Pakistan's narrative, accusing Islamabad of waging a prolonged proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir, suppressing political rights in territories under its control, and exporting disinformation abroad while denying basic freedoms at home," a NDTV report detailed.

"The most visible demonstration took place outside the Pakistani Consulate in Bradford, where residents from Jammu and Kashmir, under the banner of the United Kashmir People's National Party (UKPNP), staged a large and vocal protest. Demonstrators dismissed the observance as 'fraudulent solidarity', raising slogans such as 'Our State is Ours - Occupation is Unacceptable', 'Stop Land Grabbing', and 'End State Terrorism'," it added.

Another report by the US-based media group Global Strat View mentioned that residents of Pakistan-occupied Gilgit Baltistan (PoGB) marked February 5th as a day to expose what they described as "Pakistani hypocrisy and crimes" against the people of PoGB and Pakistan-occupied Jammu Kashmir (PoJK).

Rather than focusing on Kashmir, it said, Pakistan should address the needs of its own inhabitants, who are struggling with poverty and unemployment.

The report noted that Pakistan has deprived the people of PoGB of basic constitutional rights, with its law enforcement and Pakistani army accused of "participating in the genocide of local Shias and handing their ancestral lands to Pakistani settlers to reduce the Shia population to a minority".

Highlighting the atrocities by Pakistani forces, it further said, "Instead of apologising to the people of POJK, who recently buried 13 loved ones killed by Punjab police and rangers, Pakistani occupiers have the audacity to claim a stake in Indian Kashmir and express solidarity with its people, who, contrary to myths, live as equal Indian citizens with constitutional rights and political representation at all levels."

"While the people of POJK lack bare essentials such as food, electricity, medicine, potable water, and sanitation facilities, the Indian Kashmiris benefit from the latest world-class infrastructure and sustained socioeconomic progress," the report added.

- IANS