A protest to express solidarity with Kashmiris, highlighting human rights violations in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), was held on Saturday in Vienna, Austria, under the aegis of community forums of Pakistani expatriates, ‘Mein Hun Pakistani’ and ‘Pak Friends Austria’.
The protest was held outside the Vienna International Centre, where the United Nations (UN) offices in Austria’s capital are located. The event was specifically organised on the eve of the 77th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session at the UN headquarters in New York, US, to remind the international community about UN resolutions and pledges to resolve the Kashmir issue.
Pakistani expatriates protested for the rights of Kashmiris while also raising awareness of the flood devastation in Pakistan. They appreciated relief efforts made by the Pakistan Army and funding from the international community. Addressing the special gathering, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry said that the UN and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) must come forward to support Kashmiris. The president termed the Kashmir dispute one of the oldest disputes pending on the UN agenda. He said that India’s perpetual denial to grant the right to self-determination to the people of Jammu and Kashmir was the main reason that the issue continues to linger for the past 75 years. He also said that the UN should influence the Indian government to implement the UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions that guarantee the right of self-determination to the people of Kashmir.
Referring to the worsening human rights situation in the IIOJK, the president pointed out that in addition to police and paramilitary forces the Indian government had deployed over a half million armed forces in Kashmir.
