ISLAMABAD - Kashmir Solidarity Day will be observed today (Wednesday) across Pakistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan with national zeal and fervour to express solidarity with the people of Indian-Held Kashmir and pay tribute to the sacrifices of Kashmiri martyrs.
The day is a regular annual event being marked to support the indigenous freedom struggle of the people of Occupied Kashmir and their right to plebiscite and to condemn Indian aggression and its illegal occupation of the held valley. A large number of organisations and political parties will observe Kashmir Day, which is a gazetted holiday throughout Pakistan. The Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas has devised a comprehensive programme for the occasion. The day will dawn with special prayers and one-minute silence will be observed at 10:00 a.m. A request in this connection has been made to the general public to observe silence in honour of the Kashmiri martyrs.
A human chain will be formed by the people of Pakistan and Kashmir at the Kohala Bridge, linking Pakistan with Azad Kashmir, as a gesture of oneness and commitment to their brethren in Occupied Kashmir.  The government and people of Pakistan had been observing the day each year since 1990 to express solidarity with Kashmiri brethren of Indian-Occupied Kashmir who are struggling for their birth right to self-determination promised to them by the United Nations Security Council.
In Azad Jammu and Kashmir, the elected Legislative Assembly and the Council will hold a joint session in Muzaffarabad, which will be addressed by Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif. The Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan will organise a Kashmir Convention where political and religious leaders will speak about the Kashmir issue and highlight different facets of the dispute.
Rallies in support of Kashmiris will also be taken out at district headquarters in the four provinces, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan.
Functions will be held at embassies of Pakistan in foreign countries to mark the day.
Literary, social and cultural organisations will hold events to highlight the struggle of Kashmiris for their right to self-determination.
Television channels and radio stations will broadcast special transmissions to cover activities in connection with the day.
Special Kashmir Committee headed by Maulana Fazlur Rehman held its first meeting last week to finalise details of activities to be arranged in connection with the day.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman has nominated MNAs Muhammad Ijazul Haq, Chaudhry Iftikhar Nazir and Malik Ibrar Ahmed to present a memorandum to the United Nations Resident Representative in Islamabad on behalf of the chairman and committee.