Since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack in Israel, political parties and religious organizations have been organizing anti-Israel conferences and rallies in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Azad Jammu & Kashmir at which speakers stress that the issues of Kashmir and Palestine resemble one another, and Kashmiris should learn from the October 7 attack.
"The One-Point Agenda Of Kashmiris Is The Liberation Of Kashmir – After Palestine, This Will Have To Be Carried Out In Kashmir"
Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan, who is the former prime minister of Pakistan-administered Azad Jammu & Kashmir and president of the Muslim Conference party there, addressed a conference in Islamabad organized to show solidarity with the Palestinians, saying: "Kashmiris should learn from what is happening in Palestine. The one-point agenda of Kashmiris is the liberation of Kashmir. After Palestine, this will have to be carried out in Kashmir...[1] Israel and India are working together. India and Israel are pursuing a single strategy and if Israel becomes successful, [Indian Prime Minister Narendra] Modi is ready. So, Israel will have to be defeated...[2] Israel is becoming guilty of genocide and war crimes, but the international community has become a silent spectator. There is a need to raise up the entire Ummah against Israel. The defense of the First Qibla [i.e., Jerusalem] is part of our faith. [We] will make every possible effort to help the Palestinian sisters and brothers."[3]
The report in Roznama Ausaf quoting Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan.
Addressing the conference, Sardar Tanveer Ilyas, another former prime minister of Aza Jammu & Kashmir, said: "There is a parallel between the issues of Kashmir and Palestine. Why are the rulers of the world not becoming a voice of the peoples of Kashmir and Palestine? How will they face Allah? Crimes greater than those committed in the two World Wars are being committed against Palestinians. Arab countries should pressure Israel to stop committing these crimes and Palestine can be liberated."[4]
Dr. Muhammad Mushtaq Khan, the emir of Jamaat-e-Islami for Azad Jammu & Kashmir, told the conference: "[Allah has said in the Quran,] Do not make the Jews and Christians your friend. They are friends between themselves. One who is with them will be among them..."[5] At an earlier meeting, Khan demanded "action against Israel for pushing the world into a third world war."[6] He said: "It is obligatory upon the entire Ummah to struggle for the liberation of the First Qibla and to provide practical aid to the unarmed Palestinians. India and Israel are shedding the blood of Muslims like water. The occupation army of India in the occupied Jammu & Kashmir is martyring Kashmiris and disposing of their corpses in the remote areas of jungles."[7]
"This Struggle Has Shown Kashmiris A Path"
Khan also observed during a meeting with Muhammad Ghalib, president of Tehreek-e-Kashmir Europe ("the Movement of Kashmir in Europe"): "India and Israel are the biggest threats to world peace... Overseas Kashmiris have played and are playing the role of ambassador for the Kashmir issue in real terms. The immigrants are a big force for the Kashmir issue at the international level. Hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Kashmir have exposed and are exposing the despicable face of Narendra Modi."[8]
Pakistan's caretaker prime minister Anwarul Haq Kakar, addressing the Margalla Dialogue, a conference held annually in Islamabad by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI), also sought to link Kashmir and Palestine. "The world will have to resolve the issue of Kashmir and Palestine," he said,[9] adding: "India is stoking conflict and instability in the region. Justice should be done in the world. There is no precedent for the Israeli barbarism in Gaza. There is no justification for the killing of innocent Palestinians."[10]
According to a report in the Urdu daily Roznama Dunya, Sirajul Haq, the Emir of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, told a conference: "The Gaza movement also showed a path to Kashmiris."[11] He added: "The entire Ummah is with Gaza. There will be a Gaza March on November 19 in Lahore. We will continue this movement [for supporting Palestinians] until the Muslims of Gaza are successful. This struggle has shown Kashmiris a path. The coming time is about the liberation of Palestine and Kashmir."[12]
Sirajul Haq addresses a public rally in Lahore on November 19, 2023.
On November 19, 2023, Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan organized a mass rally against Israel at Lahore's Campus Pul. The following is a report as published by the Urdu daily Roznama Islam.[13]
"The Problems Of The Muslim World Will Not Be Resolved Until The Muslim Rulers Join Hands And Adopt The Path Of Jihad"
"The People's Armies Will Go To Gaza Soon, I Will Lead [Them] Myself – Sirajul Haq
"Lahore (news reporter) – To express solidarity with Palestinians and [to condemn] Israeli terrorism, Jamat-e-Islami [JI] organized a Gaza March on Campus Pul Lahore in which thousands of people participated. Hamas leader Nawaf Takruri participated in the Gaza March. Addressing the March, Jamat-e-Islami emir Sirajul Haq said America wants a Jamat-e-Islami government to not be formed under any conditions in the next elections [scheduled for February 2024]. If our government comes to power, Kashmir and Palestine will not be part of India and Israel. Soon, the people's armies will go to Gaza, I will lead [them] myself.
"Sirajul Haq said that if the Caretaker Prime Minister [Anwaarul Haq] Kakar and Caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab [Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi] had joined the Gaza March today, it would have sent a good message. [Former Prime Minister] Nawaz Sharif and [former President Asif Ali] Zardari are not uttering a single word on Palestine.
"At the OIC [Organization of Islamic Cooperation] meeting, the coward rulers gave the Zionists a license for more terrorism by adopting a dead resolution. Palestine will be liberated by leaders like Tipu Sultan and Salahuddin Ayyubi, not by Mir Zafar and Mir Sadiq [who are known for betraying the Muslim rulers of India].
"He said that this gathering of tens of thousands of people in Lahore is a message for the world that Palestinians are not alone; we are standing by them. Israel was made by the imperialist powers. The Palestinians have never recognized Israel. Israel is committing atrocities on unarmed Palestinians. After the Kaaba and Masjid-e-Nabawi [in Mecca and Medina respectively], Baitul Muqaddas [Al-Aqsa Mosque of Jerusalem] is the most sacred place for Muslims; this cannot be left at the mercy of a false satanic state like Israel.
A copy of the report in Roznama Islam based on Sirajul Haq's speech
"[Sirajul Haq further said:] Palestinians confronted Israeli tanks with slingshots. Israel is bombing hospitals and schools. The Al-Aqsa Storm is the battle of truth against falsehood, the world has been divided between the oppressors and the oppressed. Those who are with the oppressed are alive. The conscience of the rest has become dead.
"The mini Qayamat [i.e., Day of Judgment] in Gaza has awakened the entire world. The children of Gaza are asking their parents: When will our Muslim brothers arrive to help us? How will the Muslim rulers answer their Lord about the cries of the oppressed? He said the meeting of the OIC was simply an attempt to cool the sentiments of Muslim publics. Today, the Muslim ruler's role is similar to that of Mir Zafar and Mir Sadiq.
"Today, India is also worried that if the people of Gaza were successful despite the modern weapons and technologies of Israel, then the people of Kashmir would also defeat us tomorrow. He further said that every step, every word of pain and every slogan rising in support of the oppressed Palestinians is jihad fi Sabeelillah [Jihad in the path of Allah]. Even Israelis are protesting against Netanyahu. The people of France and London have also protested in favor of Palestinians. I salute those who expressed solidarity with Palestinians across the world
Sirajul Haq, the emir of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, addresses rally in Lahore
"Our 3,700 people are missing in Palestine; the people of Palestine are not alone; we were together and are standing together and will continue to support Palestinians brothers and sisters. The resolutions of the United Nations are useless, the problems of the Muslim world will not be resolved till the Muslim rulers join hands and adopt the path of jihad."
"That Day Is Not Far When The Roads To Gaza Will Open And The People's Armies Will Stand Alongside The Mujahideen Of Gaza"
"That day is not far when the roads to Gaza will open and the people's armies will stand alongside the mujahideen of Gaza – I will lead the Pakistani people myself. He said that if the Pakistani people want Kashmir and Palestine to be liberated, [an end to] unemployment and corruption, and for education and progress to flourish, they should remove the incompetent and corrupt leaders and give an opportunity to competent and honest leaders.
"[For the coming elections] my agenda is that of progress, that of the rule of Quran and Sunnah, the liberation of Kashmir, and to resolve the problems of the poor. The Pakistani people should support us. After our million-man March, the American ambassador began holding meetings with politicians, he wants to stop us from forming a government."
[1] Roznama Ausaf (Pakistan), November 17, 2023.
[2] Roznama Ausaf (Pakistan), November 17, 2023.
[3] Roznama Ausaf (Pakistan), November 17, 2023.
[4] Roznama Ausaf (Pakistan), November 16, 2023.
[5] Roznama Ausaf (Pakistan), November 16, 2023.
[6] Roznama Siasat (Pakistan), November 1, 2023.
[7] Roznama Siasat (Pakistan), November 1, 2023.
[8] Roznama Sada-e-Chandar (Pakistan), November 15, 2023.
[9] Roznama Ausaf (Pakistan), November 16, 2023.
[10] Roznama Ausaf (Pakistan), November 16, 2023.
[11] Roznama Dunya (Pakistan), November 1, 2023.
[12] Roznama Dunya (Pakistan), November 1, 2023.
[13] Roznama Islam (Pakistan), November 20, 2023.