KARACHI, Pakistan 

Pakistan on Wednesday observed Kashmir Solidarity Day, vowing to continue its "moral" and "diplomatic" support to the pro-independence movement in the disputed Jammu and Kashmir.

Human chains, rallies, and protest demonstrations were held across the country to mark the day, which has been an annual affair since 1990 amid lingering tensions with longtime rival India on the Kashmir dispute.

The day, a national holiday, began with special prayers in the mosques for the liberation of Kashmir. A minute's silence was observed throughout the country at 10 a.m. local time (0600GMT).

Thousands of people formed human chains on roads connecting the capital Islamabad to the Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

The main rally was held near the Parliament House in Islamabad, which was attended by a large number of people, including federal ministers, lawmakers, women, students, and Kashmiri leaders.

Diplomats, students, and civil society members attended another rally taken out from the Foreign Ministry.

Rallies, conferences, and seminars were also held in all four provincial capitals – Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, and Quetta –, in addition to other big cities and remote towns, to denounce the “'human rights violations" in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir.

In Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, also known as Azad Kashmir, Bagh, Rawlakot, Kohlu, Mirpur, and other districts, human chains were formed to express solidarity with the pro-freedom struggle.

Jamat-e-Islami, a mainstream religious political party, Pakistan Central Muslim League, and other political parties also held rallies across the country, including major congregations in Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar.

In their separate messages on the occasion, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the government and people of Pakistan will continue their "steadfast" support to the Kashmiris' "just and legitimate struggle for realization of their right to self-determination."

The recent developments in the Middle East, Sharif observed, amply show that the long-standing disputes should not be allowed to fester.

Disputed region

Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.

Since they were partitioned in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars – in 1948, 1965, and 1971 – two of them over Kashmir.

Also, in the Siachen glacier in northern Kashmir, Indian and Pakistani troops have fought intermittently since 1984. A cease-fire came into effect in 2003.

In August 2019, India scrapped the long-standing semi-autonomous status of the disputed valley, a controversial move that prompted Islamabad to downgrade its diplomatic mission and halt trade with New Delhi.

Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or unification with neighboring Pakistan.

According to several human rights organizations, thousands of people have reportedly been killed in the conflict in the region since 1989.