The decision of the Senate of Pakistan to hold a special session in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), on Aug 5 to express solidarity with Kashmiris and condemn abolition of the special status of occupied Kashmir by India on the unlawful move’s first anniversary is appreciable and must be welcomed by people belonging to all shades of opinion.

Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani has informed AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider about the initiative, which would be the first time in the history of the country that the upper chamber of its parliament would be meeting at a  territory which, being ‘disputed’ under the UN resolutions, is not part of the federation.

Political observers are of the view that it is certainly a good political move which should not be confined to the issuance of routine statements in favour of the struggling Kashmiri people. Instead, the participants of the session should suggest the Pakistan government some practical measures needed to force India to withdraw its Aug 5 annexation decision.

The session will be a good opportunity to take the Kashmiri leadership on board for the future strategy.

Only recently had the AJK prime minister expressed dissatisfaction over the Kashmir policy being pursued by successive Pakistan governments for decades, insisting that it would not yield positive results even in centuries.

The opinion of other Kashmiri leaders would be no different as all sacrifices offered by them during the past decades have not borne any fruit.

The special Senate session, probably, is the best opportunity for the AJK prime minister to let the Pakistan government know what it should do to highlight the Kashmir dispute at the international level in the prevailing situation. 

He is well aware of the global situation, the thinking and commercial interests of important Islamic countries, the mindset of major countries like the United States, China, Russia, Britain and France.

Whatever the AJK premier suggests should be implemented in letter and spirit.

While proposing the future strategy, the AJK prime minister should ensure that whatever he proposes should have the backing of Kashmiris belonging to all major political parties. 

He should also address the concerns of those parties which still think that liberation from both Pakistan and India is a better option for the Kashmiris.

The Kashmiri leader is appreciative of the Aug 5 session decision. 

He has been quoted as saying: “Holding of a special sitting by the Senate of Pakistan in the base camp of freedom movement [AJK] against the backdrop of India’s constitutional terrorism of Aug 5, 2019, carries great significance, apart from being an extraordinary expression of eternal bonds of love and brotherhood between the Kashmiris and Pakistan.

He further says: “India has been constantly denying permission to international media to visit occupied Kashmir freely, which in itself forms a charge sheet against her. Contrarily, Azad Kashmir has always been open to the foreigners and recently we invited a group of foreign correspondents to visit the Line of Control to gain firsthand information of the situation,” he said.

Mr Haider emphatically said that not a single Kashmiri on either side of the divide had accepted India’s actions regarding occupied Kashmir and observance of Black Day on Aug 5 by the people of Pakistan and Kashmir would reaffirm it.

He said none except a plebiscite in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions offered an amicable solution to the longstanding issue and the world must come forward for its actualisation in the interest of global peace.

As Kashmir is like the jugular vein of Pakistan, all opposition parties should join hands for its liberation from India. Till then, they should freeze all plans to launch a movement against the PTI government.