Islamabad, Aug 29 (IANS) Sirens will blare out at 12 noon across Pakistan on Friday, the Pakistani national anthem will be played everywhere and all people and vehicles will come to a standstill, as the nation observes 'Kashmir Hour', the Pakistan army's media wing has announced.
Following Prime Minister Imran Khan's announcement of Kashmir Hour to be observed every week to protest India's revocation of special status for Kashmir, and in solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir, the Director General of the Inter Services Public Relations, Major General Asif Ghafoor announced the steps to be taken on Thursday.
Imran Khan and the Chief Ministers along with parliamentarians will lead the nation for Kashmir Hour by coming out to the front of their respective secretariats and office buildings, Radio Pakistan announced.
Special prayers for the people of Kashmir would also be offered after the Friday prayers.
The whole of Pakistan will express solidarity with the people of "Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) on Friday from 12 to 12:30 p.m.", Ghafoor said.
In his first address to the nation last week over the Kashmir issue, Imran Khan had announced that Pakistan would observe Kashmir Hour every Friday to show solidarity with the people of Kashmir.
"They (India) have played their trump card, they don't have any card to play now. Now whatever needs to be done will be done by us and the world," Imran Khan had said.
Ghafoor appealed to the youth, particularly students, to take part in the Friday initiative. Pakistani national heroes, people from the entertainment industry, and media representatives would be among those showing solidarity with Kashmiris, he said.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information Firdous Ashiq Awan said that Pakistan will give a "strong message to the world by expressing solidarity with the people of occupied Kashmir on Friday".
She said that people will come out at noon and stand for three minutes to express solidarity with Kashmiris.
In a tweet, Firdous shared a detailed programme on the observance, according to which traffic will be halted for half an hour. If the Parliament is in session, a gathering will be held outside the PM Office on Constitution Avenue; the main spots for the protest will be identified in all districts; deputy commissioners will coordinate the plans; and public representatives will observe protests in their respective constituencies.
Addressing an event at a school, Firdous said Prime Minister Imran Khan will lead the demonstration in front of the PM Office and the provincial chief ministers and the governments of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan will also lead demonstrations in their respective areas. She said that the PM will also address the gathering.
About Gopi
Gopi Adusumilli is a Programmer. He is the editor of SocialNews.XYZ and President of AGK Fire Inc.
He enjoys designing websites, developing mobile applications and publishing news articles on current events from various authenticated news sources.
When it comes to writing he likes to write about current world politics and Indian Movies. His future plans include developing SocialNews.XYZ into a News website that has no bias or judgment towards any.
He can be reached at gopi@socialnews.xyz