Kashmiris observe Black Day against Indian occupation

MUZAFFARABAD/WASHINGTON: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said October 27 is observed as a black day, because on this day, India had illegally, immorally and forcibly occupied the state of Jammu and Kashmir in 1947. “This day is a testament to Kashmiris’ legendary courage and resilience they have shown in standing up to the Indian occupation forces over the last 75 years,” the PM said.

The people of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday observed a black day throughout the state on the 75 years of Indian illegal occupation. The main protest was organised under the aegis of Pasban-e-Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir, in which a large number of people participated, while the city echoed with anti-India and pro-freedom slogans. The protesters marched on the main highway and presented a resolution to the United Nations Military Observer Group of Indian and Pakistan (UNMOGIP). They wore chains in their hands, black bands on their heads and carried banners and placards inscribed with condemnation against the Indian military occupation of October 27, 1947.

Addressing rally, the speakers said they observed the black day against the Indian military occupation in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, adding that every single citizen of the state is protesting and expressing hatred against the Indian military occupation. They maintained that India has violated all the rights of the Kashmiri people for the last 75 years as it has turned the entire state into a prison with the brutality of cruel soldiers and through black laws.

The speakers said the United Nations should fulfil the promise of granting Kashmiris right to self-determination, adding international community should declare all the illegal, unilateral and cruel Indian actions of August 5, 2019 null and void.

As the protesters reached the UNMOGIP office, a six-member delegation led by Chairman Pasban-e-Hurriyat Uzair Ahmed Ghazali presented the resolution to the UN delegation. Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Chaudhry Latif Akbar, Pasban-e-Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir Chairman Uzair Ahmed Ghazali, Kashmir Liberation Commission Secretary Ejaz Ahmad Lone, Abdul Razzaq Khan and others were present.

Meanwhile, Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry, while stressing the need for early resolution of the Kashmir dispute, said that the unsettled dispute posed a threat to peace and stability in South Asia.

Addressing a seminar organised by the Pakistan Embassy in Washington, DC, the AJK president said that India had illegally occupied the territory of Jammu and Kashmir by landing its troops in Srinagar soon after the foundation of Azad Jammu and Kashmir government was laid on October 24, 1947 under the leadership of Ghazi Millat Sardar Ibrahim Khan.

Terming the Indian invasion of Kashmir as illegal, he said that Kashmiris have never accepted Indian control over the territory. He also termed the unresolved issue of Kashmir as the biggest threat to peace and stability in the region and added that the international community should play its role to settle the lingering dispute that has now assumed dangerous proportions. Ambassador Sardar Masood Khan, while reiterating Pakistan’s continued support to the Kashmir cause, said the United Nations should play its pivotal role to resolve the issue in line with the wishes and aspirations of the Kashmiri people and help stop the ongoing atrocities in the IIOJ&K. The seminar was attended and addressed by prominent Kashmiri leader Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai, Dr Imtiaz and others.