No rally held in Sindh to observe 'Kashmir Solidarity Hour'

In yet another instance manifesting disaccord among political factions on the Kashmir issue, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government in the Sindh province did not hold a single rally to observe the so-called 'Kashmir solidarity hour' called for by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Sindh Minister of Information and Labour Saeed Ghani said his government did not like to take any "showcase measures" and thus had not participated in the call that urged people in the country to come out on the roads for one hour on Friday.

According to Dunya News, no demonstrations were held during the so called solidarity hour including outside the Sindh chief minister's house, the Sindh Assembly and the People's Secretariat.

Ghani added that Prime Minister Imran Kahn and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi should have rather visited different countries to highlight the matter, reported Dunya News.

"Government policy cannot highlight the cause of Kashmir while accusing the opposition of not working along", said Ghani.

The much-hyped 'Kashmir Solidarity Hour' failed to garner much attention among the Pakistanis, in spite of the desperate attempts made by the authorities, such as directing school children to join the protests, restricting traffic and blocking roads in view of the protest.

PPP leader Abdul Qadir Patel asserted that a joint meeting of the Parliament was called on Friday but the Imran Khan-led government "chose to escape" that.

The failure of the protests has left Pakistan red-faced, and marked another failure in its efforts to internationalise the Kashmir issue. The country is rattled by the Indian government's move to strip the special status accorded to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 and has found itself completely isolated despite desperate attempts aimed at internationalising the issue.