President Dr. Arif Alvi of Pakistan has pleaded with the world to pay attention to the flagrant human rights abuses occurring in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). He emphasised the need for a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the resolutions of the UN Security Council and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people in a statement on the occasion of the 92nd Youm-e-Shuhada, which is observed in memory of the twenty two Kashmiris who were killed on this day back in 1931 by Dogra forces. The President paid eloquent tribute to the martyrs of July 13th, 1931, saying that Pakistan unites its Kashmiri brothers in honouring their sacrifices.
He said the Kashmiri people are still waging a struggle against the illegal Indian occupation. He regretted that nine hundred thousand Indian forces are holding the Kashmiri people hostage to perpetrate their illegal occupation in the valley.
The President urged the Indian authorities to stop the persecution campaign in illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir and release all the political detainees.
He said the military siege should be lifted and efforts to change the demography of the occupied territory must come to an end. He said the Kashmiris must be given their right to self-determination.
Meanwhile,President Dr Arif Alvi on Thursday said that Pakistan wanted to expand bilateral ties with the Philippines, Iran, and Rwanda in the fields of trade, economy, investment, culture, and people-to-people contacts.
The president made these remarks while talking to the Ambassadors-designates of the Republic of the Philippines and the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the non-resident High-Commissioner-designate of the Republic of Rwanda, who presented their diplomatic credentials to the president and made separate calls on him, here at Aiwan-e-Sadr.
Talking to the Ambassador-designate of the Philippines, Maria Agnes M. Cervantes, the president said that Pakistan was keen to expand bilateral relations with the Philippines across all areas of cooperation and expressed the need to explore new avenues of cooperation to further diversify bilateral trade and economic cooperation.
Speaking to the Iranian Ambassador-designate to Pakistan, Dr Reza Amiri Moghaddam, the president highlighted the need to promote economic engagement and mutually beneficial economic exchanges between the two countries through the established institutional mechanisms and private-sector collaborations.
He called for further expanding economic ties by strengthening the existing institutional mechanisms, besides making the Border Sustenance Marketplaces functional.
Talking to the High Commissioner-designate of Rwanda to Pakistan, James Kimonyo, the president emphasized the need to further strengthen trade and economic relations, adding that the business communities of the two countries needed to exchange visits to boost bilateral trade.
He remarked that Rwandan businessmen should explore the Pakistani market, especially for the import of rice, textile products, pharmaceuticals, surgical instruments, and sports goods.
The president felicitated the envoys on their appointments and expressed the hope that they would play their role to further increase bilateral cooperation with Pakistan.
