ISLAMABAD: Kashmiris observed the 71st year of Kashmir’s Accession to Pakistan Day on Thursday, with a renewal of their pledge to continue the struggle for the right to self-determination and to translate the idea of accession of the Jammu Kashmir state to Pakistan according to the spirit of the 1947 resolution.
Arrangements were made to observe the day throughout Azad Jammu Kashmir, occupied Jammu and Kashmir and in other parts of the world where Kashmiris live.
The day is observed by Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC). It is a renewal of the historical resolution of Kashmir’s accession to Pakistan passed by the people of the state through the All Jammu Kashmir Muslim Conference in 1947 in Srinagar, demanding the then-Dogra rulers to enable accession of the state to Pakistan according to the wishes of the majority population.
“Otherwise Kashmiris would have no option except waging armed struggle for liberation of their motherland,” the resolution said.
Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Raja Farooq Haider directed all commissioners and deputy commissioners to observe the day to convey a strong message to the international community that Pakistan is incomplete without the accession of Kashmir in its entirety.
To highlight its significance, the day was declared a public holiday with seminars, rallies and functions scheduled taking place across the state. The main function of the day was arranged in Muzaffarabad, the capital of AJK.
71st year of Kashmir’s Accession to Pakistan Day observed
71st year of Kashmir’s Accession to Pakistan Day observed
- PM Raja Farooq Haider directed all commissioners and deputy commissioners to observe day to convey strong message to international community
Hundreds of thousands of Catholics join Black Nazarene procession in Manila
- Around 80 percent of Philippines’ 110 million population are Roman Catholics
- The annual 6km procession began at 4 a.m. on Friday
MANILA: Hundreds of thousands of Catholics took part in a barefoot procession in Manila on Friday, carrying the Black Nazarene, a centuries-old ebony statue of Jesus Christ believed by devotees to have miraculous powers.
Around 80 percent of the Philippines’ 110 million population identify as Roman Catholic, a legacy of more than 300 years of Spanish colonization.
After a midnight mass joined by tens of thousands of worshippers, the procession began at the Quirino Grandstand at 4 a.m., with the statue of Jesus placed on a cross carried by a four-wheel carriage, which then slowly traveled through Manila’s roads, thronged by massive crowds, for around 6 kilometers.
The procession — which is known as the Traslacion (“transfer”) or as the Feast of the Black Nazarene — commemorates the 1787 relocation of the Black Nazarene from a church inside the colonial Spanish capital of Intramuros in Manila’s center to its present location in Quiapo Church.
For many Filipino Catholics, the annual procession and the festivities surrounding it are deeply personal — a way of expressing deep faith and spiritual devotion, and conveying their personal prayers.
“As early as Jan. 8, you will already see a long queue of devotees near the Quirino Grandstand. Many of them are there to get the chance to wipe a towel on the image of the Nazarene. That’s their devotion,” Jomel Bermudez told Arab News.
Many devotees believe the statue is miraculous, and that touching it, or the ropes attached to its float, can heal illness or help provide good health, jobs and a better life. This belief is partly because the statue has survived multiple earthquakes, fires, floods, and even the bombing of Manila in the Second World War.
“We wipe (the towels) on our bodies, especially on sick people,” Bermudez continued. “My father, for example, was diagnosed with leukemia and now he is already recovered. He was one of my prayers last year. He is 56, and he survived.”
On Friday, many devotees were clad in maroon and yellow as they flooded the streets to swarm the statue, jostling for a chance to pull its thick rope.
Bermudez, who first participated in the procession in 2014, said he was inspired to do so by seeing the effect it had had on friends who had taken part.
“I saw friends whose lives really changed. That encouraged me to change too,” he said, adding that this year he is one of a group on the sidelines helping to keep the procession moving.
“My prayers before were already answered. This time, I’m praying for my children’s success in life,” he said.
Jersey Banez, a 23-year-old devotee, was among those who arrived as early as 2 a.m. to take part in the procession.
“I do this every year. I’m just grateful for a happy life,” he told Arab News. “My prayer is still the same: to have a happy family and a happy life, and that everyone and everything that needs to change will change.”
