MESSAGE FROM ALI AMIN KHAN GANDAPUR (FEDERAL MINISTER FOR KASHMIR AFFAIRS & GILGIT BALTISTAN)

This Kashmir day is darker than the rest. On August 5th, India tried to legitimize it's illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir exactly as it had tried to do almost 72 years ago on October 27th, 1947.Then, just like now, the people of Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir had rejected these unilateral attempts.

Not content with having taken a step in direct contravention of international law and United Nations Security Council resolutions, India has instead embarked on an unprecedented campaign of repression and tyranny that has shaken the world's conscience to the core.

Thousands of young boys have been abducted from their homes and shifted to undisclosed locations; thousands more have been arrested without charge. Kashmiris have been cut-off from the rest of the world through a communication blockade which has few parallels. Women, children, the elderly and the sick do not have access to medicines, and 8 million Kashmiris are living lives of quiet desperation in what has become the largest prison in the world.

We demand and immediate end to the illegal Indian occupation and restoration of essential mobile and communication services. If India has nothing to hide, it should let the Kashmiris tell the world how they feel about India's arbitrary actions of August 5.

Pakistan is going to stand steadfast in support of its Kashmiri brothers and sisters until they have their basic freedoms restored, and until they achieve their legitimate right of self-determination as per the United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019