At least 1,000 people formed a human chain in Pakistan-administered Kashmir as rallies were held across Pakistan Sunday to denounce Indian rule in the disputed Himalayan state.A Pakistani public holiday, Kashmir Solidarity Day supports the region's right to self-determination in line with UN resolutions that call for a plebiscite in Kashmir on whether it should be ruled by India or Pakistan.
"At least 1,000 people formed a human chain at the Kohala bridge near the regional capital, Muzaffarabad", said an AFP reporter at the scene.
They also later held a rally and chanted, "We will fight until Kashmir is free of Indian clutches. We want freedom."
Banners calling for Kashmir's freedom from Indian rule were put up by main roads and intersections across Pakistan and thousands of people in the country held protest rallies.
In the morning, Pakistan observed a one-minute silence as a mark of respect to the more than 47,000 people killed since an insurgency broke out in mainly Muslim Indian Kashmir in 1989.
Rallies were held in the northwestern city Peshawar and eastern city Lahore where people expressed solidarity with Kashmiris and chanted, "Kashmir will become part of Pakistan and Kashmir is Pakistan's jugular vein."
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, in a special message, reiterated his country's "fullest moral, political and diplomatic support to Kashmiris in their just cause".
"It is indeed imperative that the noble principles and values that underpin the just Kashmiri cause are upheld and supported by all justice and freedom loving peoples across the world," Zardari said.
In his message, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said "a peaceful settlement of the dispute in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people is a must to ensure peace and prosperity in the region".
Kashmir was split in two in the aftermath of independence on the subcontinent when British rule ended in 1947. Both India and Pakistan claim the whole territory, which is divided by a heavily militarised Line of Control.
India accuses Pakistan of sponsoring an Islamist insurgency in Kashmir. Pakistan denies the claim but has often spoken in support of the fighters.
Posted on Monday, February 06, 2012 @ 04:46:15 JST by admin
