Pakistanis in Jeddah commemorated the 25th Kashmir Solidarity Day at the consulate and a local school this week.

Aftab Khokhar, the Pakistan consul general, was the chief guest at a program held at the Pakistan International School-Jeddah (PIS-J) Azizia on Wednesday. Mohammed Bilal, the principal of the school, was also present.

Muhammad Ahmed, a grade nine student, delivered a speech in support of the people in Kashmir. Another speaker, Muhammad Zubair, said that Pakistan would continue assisting with moral and diplomatic support.

Yahya Aneeq said: “India should realize that the Kashmir dispute is not about a piece of land but involves human lives and emotions.”

Zahid Mahmood, a grade 11 student, said Kashmir was one of the oldest unresolved international disputes in the world today.

The Pakistan consulate and the Kashmir Committee also commemorated the day in Jeddah on Wednesday at an event held at Khokhar’s residence.

The guests included Mahdy Fathallah, director general of political affairs for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Ali Al-Ghamdi, a former Saudi diplomat and writer, and Abdulwahab Noorwali, former assistant secretary of the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY).

Khokhar urged the international community to help resolve the dispute in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.

Khokhar also out read messages from Pakistan’s President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Khokhar said, quoting Hussain, that the day was held on Feb. 5 every year to reaffirm “our moral, political, and diplomatic support for our Kashmiri brethren in their just struggle for fundamental rights, including the right to self-determination as enshrined in the United Nations Charter and the relevant UN resolutions.”

Sharif in his message called for a just and peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.

“On this day we reaffirm our resolve to stand by our brothers and sisters in their valiant struggle for their just cause. The peaceful people of Jammu and Kashmir continue to suffer,” he said.

Sharif said that Pakistan was committed to the resolving the issue peacefully. “We invite India to engage in a comprehensive, sustained and result-oriented dialogue process. We also urge the international community to play its role in securing Kashmiri’s their right to self determination,” he said.

Fathallah said the OIC has consistently shown its support for the people of Kashmir in their struggle for their fundamental human rights.

“This is also an occasion to keep alive the memories and efforts of those Kashmiris who have sacrificed their lives for the sake of their homeland. There are many voices in the Islamic world and larger international community supporting the Kashmiri cause,” he said.

The participants appealed to the United Nations, OIC and other Islamic institutions to raise funds to provide humanitarian assistance to the Kashmiri people.