ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on Monday visited Azad Kashmir and reassured his country’s support to the Kashmiri people in their struggle for their right to self-determination, as Pakistan observed a public holiday to show solidarity with Kashmiris.
Pakistan, which observes the Kashmir Solidarity Day every year on February 5, calls for the right to self-determination to the people of Indian-administered Kashmir and has repeatedly urged New Delhi to hold a plebiscite in the disputed territory in line with the United Nations Security Council resolutions. 
The Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir has been a flashpoint between Pakistan and India since their independence from the British rule in 1947. Both Pakistan and India rule parts of the Himalayan territory, but claim it in full and have fought three wars over the disputed region.
During his visit to Azad Kashmir’s capital Muzaffarabad, PM Kakar met with the Azad Kashmir prime minister, Chaudhry Anwar-ul-Haq, and Chaudhry Latif Akbar, speaker of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly.
“The entire Pakistani nation, including me, is standing by their Kashmiri brothers and sisters in the struggle for their right to self-determination,” PM Kakar was quoted as saying by his office.
“The final and just solution to the Kashmir issue is possible only under a free and impartial plebiscite according to the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.”
He said “Indian atrocities in Jammu and Kashmir” were not hidden from anyone and the silence of the international community on the matter was “alarming and reprehensible,” according to a statement issued by PM Kakar’s office.
“Pakistan will continue to provide moral, political and diplomatic support to its Kashmiri brothers and sisters until they achieve their right to self-determination,” the Pakistan prime minister said.
The Azad Kashmir prime minister and speaker of the AJK Legislative Assembly welcomed the Pakistan PM’s visit to Muzaffarabad on the Kashmir Solidarity Day.
“They said Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar’s visit to Muzaffarabad for the Kashmir Solidarity Day conveyed a clear message to India that the hearts of Pakistani and Kashmiri brothers and sisters beat together,” PM Kakar’s office said.
Every year on Feb. 5, Pakistanis from all walks of life hold demonstrations, form human chains and organize events in many parts of the country to express their support for the people of Indian-administered Kashmir.
In his message on the Kashmir Solidarity Day, Pakistan’s President Dr. Arif Alvi said Kashmiris had been struggling for their rights for the past 76 years.
“Today, IIOJK (Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir) is one of the most militarized zones in the world,” Alvi said. “Kashmiris are living in an environment of fear and intimidation.”
While Pakistan says it politically and diplomatically supports Kashmiris in their struggle for self-determination, New Delhi alleges that Islamabad trains and harbors militants who carry out attacks in its part of the disputed Himalayan region.
Ties between the two nuclear-armed rivals have been on ice since a suicide bombing of an Indian military convoy in Indian-administered Kashmir in 2019 that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan. Islamabad denies the allegation.