New Delhi: Sirens blared across Pakistan as the clock struck 12 (noon) Friday. All the trains stopped in their tracks for a full minute and traffic signals in Islamabad turned red. The national anthem of Pakistan and “Azad Jammu & Kashmir” was played across the nation.
The first citizen of Pakistan, cricketer-turned-Prime Minister Imran Khan, led the moment outside the Prime Minister’s Office in the city, along with his special assistant Firdous Ashiq Awan. Several assembled Pakistanis stood stock still — just their voices could be heard, chanting, “Kashmir banega Pakistan”.
#KashmirHour, as the campaign was hashtagged on Twitter — actually it was half an hour — was being marked all across Pakistan against the abrogation of Article 370, which had, since 1950, given special status to Jammu & Kashmir.
Khan had announced Thursday that Pakistan would bring the world’s attention to this decision by marking #KashmirHour every Friday, until at least the UN General Assembly meetings in New York next month.
“Today, all of Pakistan, wherever there are Pakistanis, whether they are our students, or shopkeepers or labourers — today all of us are standing with our Kashmiris. Our Kashmiris are going through a very tough time,” said Imran Khan. “Until Kashmiris get their freedom, we will stand with them till the last breath,” he added, Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper reported.
Also read: PM Imran Khan wants citizens to stand for 30 mins every Friday for Kashmir. Ok, and do what?
میں چاہتا ہوں کہ تمام پاکستانی کشمیری عوام سے یکجہتی کے اظہار اور مقبوضہ کشمیر کے لوگوں کو واضح پیغام بجھوانے کیلئے کہ پوری پاکستانی قوم ان کے ساتھ کھڑی ہے، کل دن 12 بجے سے لیکر 12:30 تک باہر نکلیں۔
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) August 29, 2019
And then there was the British-Pakistani journalist Gul Bukhari, also a columnist at ThePrint, who seemed to make light of the campaign.
She posted a short video of a woman TV anchor from Abb Tak TV, in dark glasses, standing on top of what looked like a truck and singing, “India ja ja/Kashmir se nikal ja…”
Dear India, Pak military has launched our Ghauri Anchor and New ISPR Ghaznavi song and fired it at you. Hai koi jawab, darpoko??? pic.twitter.com/o027d3wiup
— Gul Bukhari (@GulBukhari) August 30, 2019
Twitter was clearly the weapon of choice this afternoon. Imran Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), was most active on Twitter, sharing a video from media startup @redfishstream that likened the RSS to Hitler’s Brown Shirts.
Today’s generation didn’t saw Hitler and his regime with their own eyes, they have only heard about the stories in history books, but that fact is about to change, as another Hitler rises in the subcontinent..#AllOutForKashmirOnFri #KashmirHour pic.twitter.com/w5AU73ksGN
— PTI (@PTIofficial) August 29, 2019
Maritime Affairs Minister Ali Haider Zaidi echoed the party sentiment, calling Prime Minister Modi the “Hitler of the East”.
All organizations & institutions under the @MaritimeGovPK will stop work between 12:00 & 12:30 & come out on the streets to show solidarity with our Kashmiri brothers & sisters who are being kept hostage by @narendramodi …. the #Hitler of the East. #KashmirHour
— Ali Haider Zaidi (@AliHZaidiPTI) August 30, 2019
یہ ترانہ مقبوضہ جموں کشمیر میں بھارتی ظلم و بربریت کا شعری بیان ہے۔ وادی جنت نظیر بارود کا ڈھیر بن چکی ہے۔ ہر محاذ پر کشمیریوں کے حق کی آواز بلند کریں گے ۔ #KashmirHour #StandForKashmirOnFri
Link to the video https://t.co/2RF5XEY358 pic.twitter.com/5FOKdBma1r
— Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan (@Dr_FirdousPTI) August 29, 2019
Well-known Pakistani author and TV anchor Nasim Zehra tweeted “Hai haq humara azaadi” and said the slogan was resounding across D-Chowk in Islamabad.
Hai haq humara Azaadi #KashmirWantsFreedom … at D- chowk Islamabad pic.twitter.com/iIMoTHL2jI
— Nasim Zehra (@NasimZehra) August 30, 2019
Journalist Mosharraf Zaidi reported a good turn out.
Decent response at Blue Area to the call by the PM to come out in solidarity with the people of Occupied Kashmir at noon today. pic.twitter.com/guD9u1gAFR
— Mosharraf Zaidi (@mosharrafzaidi) August 30, 2019
Popular actress Mahira Khan, who co-starred with Shah Rukh Khan in the Bollywood movie Raees, tweeted to say that she “stood in solidarity with Imran Khan and the people of Kashmir”.
Standing in solidarity with @ImranKhanPTI and the people of Kashmir. At this time where we pray, hope and stand together for peace. #KashmirHour #StandWithKashmir
— Mahira Khan (@TheMahiraKhan) August 30, 2019
However, some Pakistanis couldn’t hide their scepticism.
Salman Rashid, travel writer and fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, said in Lahore he “just climbed the roof to see how many morons were standing outside on the road. NOT A SOUL”. He ended his tweet with a particularly familiar South Asian expletive.
Just climbed the roof to see how many morons were standing outside on the road. NOT A SOUL. Saalay chootiyon ko chootiya bana rahay hain.
— Salman Rashid (@odysseuslahori) August 30, 2019
So, we sounded sirens. Then some who had noting better to do stood on the roads and laughed and joked. Do we hear that the evil Hindus and Sikhs have vacated Kashmir? Or do those no-good people want us to repeat this exercise next week too?
— Salman Rashid (@odysseuslahori) August 30, 2019
Bukhari pointed out that, instead of standing outside the parliament building like he had promised, Imran Khan had done a “U-turn”, leaving the chairman of the senate and the speaker to fill his shoes.
The PM was to stand for Kashmir solidarity outside the parliament building as announced yesterday but just 30 mnts ago the secretary senate during the senate session announced that PM has taken a U turn. Chairman senate and speaker NA would lead at parliament!!#گرمی_میں_خراب
— Gul Bukhari (@GulBukhari) August 30, 2019
Dawn journalist Cyril Almeida, who has won several international awards for his fearless reporting, retweeted a post with the comment that “jihad isn’t a good look” for Pakistan at the moment.
Jihad isn’t a good look for Pak just now… https://t.co/4As0uTUxdh
— cyril almeida (@cyalm) August 30, 2019
And then there was Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari, the daughter of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and former president Asif Ali Zardari, whose attention was focused on her ill father, who was brought to hospital from jail Thursday.
Her tweets centred on police allegedly keeping her sister Aseefa from meeting their father.
Daughter denied visiting her father in hospital. Locked up without trial & conviction but Imran Khan allies welcomed with open arms! World isn’t blind to what is happening under this fascist regime. Better treatment for terrorists than a former elected President in IK’s #Pakistan https://t.co/hQjIQ30TYn
— Bakhtawar B-Zardari (@BakhtawarBZ) August 30, 2019
She left it to her brother Bilawal, the chairman of the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party, to focus on Kashmir. The young Zardari tweeted: “Kashmir par sauda na manzoor (We will never do a deal on Kashmir).”
Kashmir par sauda na manzoor!
— BilawalBhuttoZardari (@BBhuttoZardari) August 30, 2019
Also read: Kashmir Banega Pakistan: A dream sold to brainwash us since childhood now lies in tatters
When who nation believes themselves to be fools, no one can help it. Imran is modern Tukhlag.
It’s really intriguing. How can you have an entire nation full of nitwits and morons !!!!
https://www.trtworld.com/asia/thousands-of-pakistanis-heed-imran-khan-s-call-for-kashmirhour-protests-29408/amp?__twitter_impression=true
Have these people ever apologized for the Bangladesh genocide? Pay tributes to the hapless Hazaras, Shias, Ahmedis, Christians and Hindus who face persecution through blasphemy laws, forced conversions, rapes and bomb blasts and slaughter?
Only extreme left media outlets such as BBC will propagandize this nonsense from the religious extremist, Islamosupremacist terror entity that masquerades to be a country.