RAWALPINDI: The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Sunday released a song as “a tribute to the brave people of Kashmir and their relentless struggle for freedom” to mark Youm-e-Istehsal, one year of Indian suppression and brutal curfew imposed in the Muslim-majority valley.
Titled “Ja Chor Day Meri Waadi” — Leave My Valley Alone — the ISPR song honours Kashmir, its freedom fighters, and its decades-long struggle for the right of self-determination.
Sung by famed classical singer Shafqat Amanat Ali, the song reminisces the aggression and violence towards Kashmir and its people at the hands of Indian forces, urged on by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.
In a description of the song, the ISPR noted that it is “in solidarity with the Kashmiris” and has been released ahead of “5th Aug 20 marks [which] one year of abrogation of Article 370 and lockdown & curfew in Indian Illegaly Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK)”.
“Kashmir uprising, sufferings of Kashmiris & human rights violations by Indian Army have been highlighted,” it added.
The ISPR shared a link to the song, available on YouTube, through its official Twitter account, with the hashtags #KashmirSeigeDay and #YoumeIstehsal.
Kashmiri Muslims barred from offering Eid prayers
A day prior, as Muslims around the world celebrated Eid-ul-Azha, India barred Muslims in occupied Kashmir from offering prayers on the special day as the regime’s oppressive measures continued in the disputed valley.
In the administration’s bid to stop Muslims from offering their prayers, authorities had placed locks on mosques’ doors, set up barriers, and blocked the roads with barbed wires.
People were forced to stay indoors after police announced on loudspeakers early morning that they should not step out on the occasion of the religious event.
Meanwhile, the ritual of sacrifice was held on a limited scale due to restrictions.
‘Double lockdown’
On Friday, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for the Kashmiris struggle for independence from Indian rule, saying the country would stand by the people of the besieged valley till its final victory.
He had regretted that no one other than the Kashmiris themselves knows exactly what had happened during the past one year of the brutal clampdown in the Himalayan region by Indian occupation forces. “To date, Kashmir suffers a communication blackout and basic human rights violations,” he said.
Referring to the coronavirus pandemic, Qureshi had said the world ought to understand what it felts like living under a lockdown and enduring forceful restrictions. Kashmiris, he had added, have been enduring a “double lockdown” — the coronavirus lockdown as well as restrictions imposed by Indian occupation forces — since a year.
The minister had said he wished to send a message of solidarity to Kashmiris all over the world. “The Pakistani nation stood with the Kashmiris yesterday, stands with them today, and will stand with them till the final victory,” Qureshi said.
Yaum-e-Istehsal
Pakistan would mark August 5 as ‘Yaum-e-Istehsal’, when India revoked Article 370 of its constitution to annex the disputed territory, he had announced on Saturday.
The whole nation should unitedly raise voice against the military siege imposed by New Delhi in the Indian occupied Kashmir a year ago after the revocation of its special status and convey a message to the Kashmiris that they were not alone in their struggle for the right to self-determination, he had said.
“On the day (August 5, 2019), the IIOJK’s flag was downed, the Kashmiris were put behind the bars, and perhaps today no Eid prayer congregation was held in Srinagar,” he had added.
The Kashmiri people had been facing immense difficulties, pain, and persecution under the continued military siege for the last one year, Qureshi had stressed.
He had added that he would visit the Line of Control (LoC) on August 3 to deliver a message that the Pakistani nation stood with the Kashmiri brethren in their just struggle for self-determination right, while Prime Minister Imran Khan would address the Legislative Assembly of Azad Jammu and Kashmir on August 5.
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