Freedom March – organized by pro-independence groups will see hundreds of Kashmiris from Pakistan-administered-Kashmir marching toward the Line of Control (LoC) – the de facto border that divides the volatile Kashmir valley between Pakistan and India.
The rally (Freedom March) is a demonstration against Delhi’s move to scrap the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. The march is being organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), a group led by the Yasin Malik.
The protestors who have gathered in Muzaffarabad for the Freedom March, the capital of Pak-administered-Kashmir (Azad Kashmir) plan to cross the LoC to Srinagar, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir.
Rafiq Dar, a spokesman for the JKLF, said “many thousands“ had already gathered in Muzaffarabad from across Azad Kashmir and Pakistan “to march toward Srinagar”.
“We have all legal rights to cross over the LoC because we do not recognise the division of Kashmiris. Secondly, the United Nations resolutions have also accepted the free exit and entrance to both parts of Kashmir,“ Dar told Anadolu Agency over the phone.
“Therefore, we appeal to the government and the army to allow us to cross over [LoC] and face the Indian troops,” he added. Dar said the marchers will remain peaceful and not indulge in any kind of violence.
A government official requesting not to be named told Anadolu Agency that over 500 JKLF supporters have so far gathered in Muzaffarabad. Hundreds more are expected to join the marchers on Saturday. Raja Iftikhar, a local journalist, speaking to Anadolu Agency, put the numbers of protesters at 3,000 to 4,000.
Earlier, Pakistan PM Imran Khan said that anyone crossing the Line of Control from Azad Jammu and Kashmir to provide humanitarian aid or support for the Kashmiri struggle against aggression will play into the hands of the Indian narrative.
I understand the anguish of the Kashmiris in AJK seeing their fellow Kashmiris in IOJK under an inhumane curfew for over 2 months. But any one crossing the LoC from AJK to provide humanitarian aid or support for Kashmiri struggle will play into the hands of the Indian narrative –
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) October 5, 2019
a narrative that tries to divert from the indigenous Kashmiris' struggle against brutal Indian Occupation by trying to label it as "Islamic terrorism" being driven by Pakistan. It will give India an excuse to increase violent oppression of Kashmiris in IOJK & attack across LoC
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) October 5, 2019
Last month, Khan had urged the United Nations to take serious action against the illegal and unilateral steps taken by India in Jammu and Kashmir to avoid any human tragedy.
