'Sirens Will Be Blared': Pakistan To Observe 'Kashmir Hour' Today

Shortly after Ghafoor's announcement, cricketer Shahid Afridi said he would participate in the protest.

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Islamabad: The Pakistan Army will today observe 'Kashmir Hour' at 12 pm. Army spokesman Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor on Wednesday made the announcement after Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Monday that an event will be held every week to show solidarity with the Kashmiri people. The first such protest will be observed at 12 pm on August 30, Ghafoor said, adding that sirens will also be blared for 'Kashmir Hour'. "Sirens will also be blared for 'Kashmir Hour," said Ghafoor while addressing a conference held to discuss ceremonies for Defence and Martyrs Day 2019 that will be observed on September 6, Dawn has reported. He asked people to take part in the initiative. Shortly after Ghafoor's announcement, cricketer Shahid Afridi said he would participate in the protest. "Let's respond to PM call for Kashmir Hour as a nation. I will be at Mazar-e-Quaid at 12pm on Friday. Join me to express solidarity with our Kashmiri brethren," said Afridi on Twitter. "On 6 Sep, I will visit the home of a Shaheed. I will soon be visiting LOC," the cricketer added. During his televised address to the countrymen on Monday, Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced that an event will be held every week to show solidarity with the Kashmiri people, starting with Friday (August 30) between 12 pm and 12:30 pm (local time). "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," he had said. Khan's remarks had come shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his meeting with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France on Monday, reiterated that Kashmir is an internal matter of India, and New Delhi and Islamabad can resolve their issues bilaterally.