Solidarity with Kashmiris: 'Black day' against Indian occupation of IoK today

To express solidarity with the people of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K), a 'Black Day' will be observed today (Sunday) across the country and abroad by Pakistanis as well as Kashmiris to mark the illegal occupation of the territory by India on October 27, 1947. The day is marked every year on October 27 when the Indian troops landed in occupied Jammu and Kashmir in 1947 in blatant violation of Partition Plan of the Subcontinent and against the Kashmiris' aspirations.

However, this year the day is of great significance when the situations in the occupied Jammu and Kashmir are worsening every coming day due to the inhumane measures and the continued lockdown for the last 84 days in wake of India's unilateral and illegal actions of 5th August, revoking the special status of occupied Kashmir. The oppressed people of occupied Jammu and Kashmir have been facing acute food and medicines shortage. They are unable even to offer prayers at mosques and children cannot go to school.

To express solidarity with the people of Kashmir in their just right of self-determination, the government has finalized all the arrangements with regard to observing the day as Black Day. In a message on Saturday, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, stated that on this day on October 27 and 72 long years ago, Indian forces landed in Srinagar to occupy and oppress the innocent people of Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K) in a clear violation of international law and norms.

He said that on 5th August, the same India has endeavored to rob the people of IOJ&K of their last semblance of independence and autonomy by indulging in a shambolic, illegal fraudulence and by accepting to lead to a demographic change in IoK. For almost three months now, he said that the Kashmiris have been prisoners in their own homes, aliens in their own land and unwelcome on their own roads.

"The whole IoK has been turned with a de-facto prison. Despite Indian spin doctors' best attempts, the world has taken notice," he said, adding that India has been called out, criticized and castigated by friend and foe alike. He pointed out that the entire international media has come forth and called out India's shame democracy and bogus egalitarianism in unison.

"India should realize it cannot fool the world forever and that its tried and trite accusations of terrorism, while simultaneously being the principle perpetrator of it, have little import with the international community", Qureshi added. In-spite of the horrendous Indian atrocities and apathy on behalf of a large part of the international community, the foreign minister said that the brave people of Indian occupied Jammu & Kashmir have demonstrated exemplary resilience and grit in the face of Indian aggression.

"I would like to assure my Kashmiri brothers and sisters, that not only do we commemorate their exemplary grit and spirit on the occasion of the Kashmir Black Day," he said. The foreign minister further stated "We also reiterate our firm and continued political, moral and diplomatic support to the people of IOJ&K in their grand struggle until they achieve their legitimate right of self-determination as per the United Nations Security Council resolutions". According to Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal, that efforts at the diplomatic levels would be intensified to highlight the Indian atrocities against the innocent Kashmiris as well as the grave situation posed due to the unprovoked ceasefire violations on the Line of Control (LoC) by targeting the civilian populations.

"Indian forces are deliberately heightening the tensions on the LoC and Working Boundary by targeting the civilian populations with an attempt to divert attention from the grave situation in the occupied Jammu and Kashmir," he said, adding that Pakistan's missions abroad have been instructed to observe the Black Day and sensitize the international communities on the crimes and human rights violations by the Indian troops.

He said that Pakistan will continue to raise voice at every international fora against the illegal occupation by India over the Jammu and Kashmir and the international community will be urged to honor the promises of giving self-determination made with the people of through various United Nations Security Council's resolutions.

He said that since 1989, more than 100,000 Kashmiris have been martyred by the Indian forces and the last three decades, over 11,000 women have been widowed. Besides, 22,000 women have been rapped in the last three decades, he added. "Hundreds of thousands children in the occupied Jammu and Kashmir have been orphaned so far," he said, adding that the Kashmiri freedom struggles got a new momentum after the martyrdom of Burhan Muzaffar Wani.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019