MUZAFFARABAD:Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas spent the day of Eid on Tuesday with soldiers stationed in two different sectors along the heavily militarised Line of Control (LoC), officials said.

While the army chief alsooffered Eid prayers with the soldiers in Kotli district, the AJK premier drove to Chakothi sector of Jhelum Valley district after offering prayers in the Saudi built grand mosque and leading an anti India rally in Muzaffarabad.

“General Qamar Javed Bajwa spent Eid with troops in Dungi, Kotli, along [the] LoC [and] offered Eid prayers with troops. Special Prayers were made for security, peace and stability of Pakistan [on the occasion],” said Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media affairs wing, in a brief press release.

The COAS also shared Eid festivities with officers and jawans and paid tribute to all martyrs and their families for their contributions for a peaceful Pakistan, it added.

It was the fourth consecutive Eidul Fitr that Gen Bajwa spent with troops in different areas along the restive dividing line in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.

Except for last year, he had also celebrated the previous two consecutive Eidul Azha at the LoC.

AJK PM visits Chakothi sector

On the same day, the AJK premier chose Chakothi sector, some 60 kilometres south of Muzaffarabad, to manifest Kashmiris’ strong attachment to the armed forces of Pakistan on the one hand and pay tributes to them on the other for their sacrifices for country’s defence and contribution in humanitarian services in the wake of natural disasters.

“We are proud of our armed forces and stand shoulder to shoulder with them… Any provocation [from across the divide] shall be responded to in a befitting manner,” said Mr Ilyas,who was accompanied by some of his cabinet members and ruling PTI activists,on the occasion.

“I want to send a message to my brethren from yards behind this bloody divide that the governments and the people of Azad Kashmir and Pakistan as well as the armed forces stand by their just struggle. I also warnIndia againstplaying with fire because the valiant Kashmiris will not sit at ease until overthrowingitsillegal occupation,” he added.

The AJK premier reiterated his appeal to the United Nations (UN) and the international community to take serious stock of India’s war frenzy and the worst ever human rights violations in occupied Kashmir.

The UN must send a ‘fact-finding mission’ to occupied Kashmir for firsthand information on the horrendous human rights situation there, he urged.

Earlier, en route to Chakothi, Mr Ilyas also visited two camps of post-1989 migrants from occupied Kashmir to express solidarity with them.

Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2022