Student activists display placards during a rally to mark Kashmir Solidarity Day in Lahore. Photo: AFP
ISLAMABAD:
The federal government on Monday announced that February 5 would be a public holiday on the occasion of Kashmir Solidarity Day.
The announcement was made in a press release from the Cabinet Secretariat, which said a minute’s silence would be observed nationwide at 10.00 in memory of the martyrs of Kashmir.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange also informed market participants that it would remain closed on the public holiday.
The origins of the day trace back to the early 1990s when it was first proposed by Qazi Hussain Ahmad.
The annual observance is used by successive governments to reaffirm support for Kashmiris in India’s illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, and to reinforce Pakistan’s long-standing call for a solution in line with UN resolutions.
The State Department has said the day is a reminder to the world and a show of solidarity with Kashmiris for their right to self-determination. The government’s information department has similarly linked the day to UN Security Council resolutions calling for a referendum.
Read: Pakistan calls for UN-backed referendum on Kashmir
Kashmir Solidarity Day is typically marked with rallies, seminars, peace marches and candlelight vigils, including events in Islamabad and across the country, as well as in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. In recent years, the day has included human chains at key connection points such as Kohala.
Civic groups and members of the Kashmiri diaspora have also used the day to maintain international attention on Kashmir, reiterating calls for a UN-backed referendum on the region’s future.
