Seminar to commemorate 19th July organised in Neelum Valley

Neelum Valley: A seminar was organized by the Director of Institute of Dialogue, Development and Diplomatic Studies (IDDDs), Dr Sheikh Waleed Rasool in the scenic valley of Kail, Neelum, to commemorate 19th July, a day etched in the political and resistance history of Jammu & Kashmir.

According to Kashmir Media Service, speakers addressing the seminar said on this day in 1947, the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference, the sole representative of the Kashmiri Muslims, passed a historic resolution to accede to Pakistan, thus affirming the collective will of the Kashmiri people even 25 days before the birth of Pakistan.

They said this decision was deeply rooted in the Two-Nation Theory, which laid the foundation of partition, stipulating that Muslim-majority regions would form Pakistan.

The speakers said given Kashmir’s geographical contiguity, religious affinity, historical ties, shared language, culture, trade routes, and emotional bond with Pakistan, accession was not only logical but inevitable. Yet, the added India, in a blatant violation of the spirit of partition, not only refused to honour the standstill agreement but also forcibly occupied Jammu and Kashmir by landing its troops on 27th October 1947—an act of aggression against the will of the people and the principles of the Two-Nation Theory.

The speakers said at that time, the people of Kashmir had already risen in revolt against the autocratic Dogra regime under the banner of the ‘Quit Kashmir Movement’, challenging the legitimacy of the minority Hindu Dogra rule.

The Maharaja’s authority had collapsed, and the people had aligned themselves with the popular will for Pakistan, they said, adding the only existing agreement between India and the princely states pertained to three subjects: defence, communication, and currency, they maintained.