a solidarity rally was held in Quetta under the district administration to mark the day. It was led by Hurriyat leader Hassan Bunna, Assistant Commissioner (City) Muhammad Amir Hamza, Assistant Commissioner (Sadar) Muhammad Yousuf Hashmi, and Metropolitan Corporation CMO Nazar Zehri.

The rally began at the Deputy Commissioner's office and passed through several main roads before concluding. Participants voiced their solidarity with the Kashmiri people and their support for the right to self-determination.

The Balochistan Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed a joint resolution marking Youm-e-Istehsal-e-Kashmir, condemning India's August 5, 2019 actions in Indian-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and reaffirming the province's support for the Kashmiri people.

Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti moved the resolution on the floor of the provincial assembly. It was tabled jointly by the chief minister, provincial ministers Mir Muhammad Sadiq Umrani, Mir Zahoor Ahmed Buledi, Mir Shoaib Nosherwani and Faisal Khan Jamali, and Parliamentary Secretary Barkat Ali Rind. The house adopted it without opposition.

What the resolution said

The resolution condemned India's revocation of Articles 370 and 35(A) of its constitution on August 5, 2019, calling the move unconstitutional, illegal and a clear violation of United Nations resolutions.

It noted that Article 370 had granted Occupied Jammu and Kashmir a special constitutional status, its own constitution and flag, and internal autonomy, while Article 35(A) had given the region's permanent residents special rights over government jobs, property and residence. By ending these provisions, the resolution said, India had sought to strip Kashmiris of their identity, constitutional standing and basic rights.

The house expressed serious concern that the 2019 measures were an attempt to unilaterally change the disputed status of the territory and to alter its demographic balance by allowing non-Kashmiris to buy land and take up government jobs, steps the resolution described as a breach of international law.

The resolution also condemned what it termed state terrorism, sieges, extrajudicial arrests, serious human rights violations and media restrictions in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, calling them a failed attempt to suppress the Kashmiri people's right to self-determination.

Solidarity and demands

The assembly expressed full solidarity with the people of Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and reaffirmed that Pakistan would continue to extend political, diplomatic, moral and legal support and would not leave them alone. It endorsed observing August 5 each year as Youm-e-Istehsal-e-Kashmir, to be marked with events aimed at drawing international attention to the Kashmir issue.

The house called on the provincial government to approach the federal government so that the Kashmir dispute could be raised more effectively at the United Nations, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and other international forums, and urged the formation of a comprehensive national strategy for the legal and diplomatic support of Kashmiris. The resolution closed by paying tribute to the sacrifices and struggle of the people of Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.