Pak call to show solidarity with Kashmiris on Friday

To keep the Jammu and Kashmir issue alive in Pakistan, the government has urged all Pakistanis to stand for three minutes at 12 noon on Friday to ‘show solidarity with Kashmiris.

Firdous Ashiq Awan, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan, gave this information to Pakistani media on Wednesday.

Awan appealed to every segment of Pakistani society to come out and demonstrate solidarity with the Kashmiris on the call of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Awan said people should come out of their houses, work places, and educational institutions at 12 noon on Friday and stand for three minutes to express solidarity and unity with their Kashmiri brethren.

"Prime Minister Khan will lead a demonstration outside his office and similarly all Chief Ministers in their provinces will also lead demonstrations in their respective areas," she said.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, a Pakistan Army spokesperson also called upon people to stand in solidarity with Kashmiris.

Former Pakistan cricket team captain Shahid Afridi also urged his countrymen to support the government's decision and participate in Friday's campaign in big numbers.

Afridi said he will soon visit the Line of COntrol (LoC) "to express solidarity with our Kashmiri brothers and sisters".

After failing to get any support from the UN Security Council or the US, Pakistan is now seeking to raise the Kashmir issue at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

Former Pakistan Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua is already in Geneva to sensitise the top rights body on the "worst human rights violations" in Jammu and Kashmir.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, briefing the National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs on the developments, also said that Prime Minister Imran Khan would lead the Pakistani delegation to the 74th UN General Assembly, that kicks off from September 17, where he would raise the Kashmir issue.

"I'll personally attend the Human Rights Council meeting and apprise the members about the aggravating human rights situation in occupied Kashmir," Qureshi said.