The Hindu : Pakistan to observe February 5 as Kashmir Day

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 01, 2004

International

International - India & World

Pakistan to observe February 5 as Kashmir Day

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, JAN. 31. Pakistan would officially observe February 5 as Kashmir Day to `reiterate solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan began the practice in the early 90s.

The day will be a closed holiday and Pakistan will observe one-minute silence at 10 a.m. throughout the country. It has planned special programmes to ``demonstrate complete solidarity with the Kashmiris.''

Speaking at a news conference, Pakistan's Federal Minister for Kashmir and Northern Area Affairs, Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, said the people and the Government of Pakistan would demonstrate on the day their solidarity with the aspirations of the people of Kashmir. He said observance of the day was meant to convey a message to the world that ``Pakistan would not step back an inch from its stated position on the issue.'' He said the Pakistan Prime Minister, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, would visit Muzaffarabad, capital of Pak Occupied Kashmir (PoK) on February 5 and address a joint session of the PoK Legislative Assembly and Council.

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