Pakistan observes nationwide ‘Kashmir Hour’ in solidarity with disputed region

ISLAMABAD: Responding to a call by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, tens of thousands of citizens across the country came out in mass demonstrations on Friday to protest Delhi’s actions in Indian-administered Kashmir.
In a Twitter post on Thursday, Khan had called on Pakistanis to “come out tomorrow (Friday) 12 noon-12.30 p.m. to show solidarity with the Kashmiri people.”
“We must send a strong message to Kashmiris that our nation stands resolutely behind them,” Khan said.
The prime minister has also asked for weekly nationwide rallies until he leaves for New York next month to attend the United Nations General Assembly, where he has vowed to raise the issue.
Across Pakistan, education institutions, government and private offices, banks, businesses and military authorities took part in solidarity events. All vehicular traffic and government machinery came to a standstill for Kashmir Hour and sirens were sounded and the national anthem played at noon across the country. PM Khan also attended a gathering outside the Prime Minister Office in Islamabad and addressed charged crowds. 
“We are with them in their testing times,” Khan told demonstrators. “The message that goes out of here today is that as long as Kashmiris don’t get freedom, we will stand with them.”
India has reacted angrily to Khan’s call for nationwide action: “This is intended to project an alarmist situation which is far from ground realities,” foreign ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar told a regular press briefing.
Tensions between Pakistan and India have soared in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s move to strip Indian-administered Kashmir of its autonomy and bring it under Delhi’s direct rule.
The area is currently in its fourth week of a wide-ranging security clampdown and communications blackout with severe restrictions on movement. Thousands of people have been arrested, according to media reports, and there have been hundreds of incidents of protests.
Pakistan and India, nuclear-armed neighbors, have fought three wars over Kashmir, which both rule in part but claim in full. In February, the arch-rivals came close to another all-out conflict after a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir was claimed by a group based in Pakistan, igniting tit-for-tat air strikes. Islamabad denies any state complicity in the assault.
Khan’s renewed calls for protests came as the Pakistani military announced earlier Thursday that it had tested a surface-to-surface ballistic missile, with the army spokesman saying the weapon was “capable of delivering multiple types of warheads.”