Kashmiris observe black day marking 78 years of India’s cccupation

Muzaffarabad: October 27 marks the darkest day in the history of Jammu and Kashmir, as it was on this day in 1947 that India illegally occupied a large part of the princely state.

Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) and around the world are observing Black Day today to reaffirm their resolve for freedom.

According to historical accounts, on October 27, 1947, India forcibly landed its troops in Jammu and Kashmir, violating the principles of the partition of the subcontinent.

Since then, the people of Kashmir have continued their struggle for self-determination, facing decades of violence and oppression. Reports suggest that in the past 34 years, nearly 100,000 Kashmiris have been killed.

Despite UN resolutions promising the right to self-determination, Kashmiris have yet to be granted this right. Observers have called on the international community to play a decisive role in ensuring a fair plebiscite in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions.

Every year, Kashmiris across the globe mark October 27 as Black Day to highlight what they call Indian aggression and human rights violations in the occupied territory. Rallies, protests, and seminars are held worldwide to draw attention to the continuing struggle and to reject India’s unilateral measures, including the revocation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, which stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its special status.

Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Chaudhry Anwar-ul-Haq described October 27 as the darkest day in the history of the region, saying India violated the principles of partition by deploying its forces against the wishes of the Kashmiri people and occupying part of the territory.

He said India’s claim over Jammu and Kashmir, based on the so-called Instrument of Accession, was rejected by the United Nations, and that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have never accepted Indian rule. Every year, Kashmiris on both sides of the LoC and across the world observe Black Day to protest India’s illegal occupation.

The AJK Prime Minister further stated that India continues to commit grave human rights violations in the occupied territory. Citing historical atrocities, he said that in November 1947, Indian troops, Dogra forces, and extremists from the RSS and Akali Dal massacred nearly 250,000 Muslims in Jammu. Since 1989, more than 96,000 civilians have been killed.

He said the people of occupied Jammu and Kashmir are fighting for their UN-recognized right to self-determination, adding that their struggle will continue until this right is achieved.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called upon the international community, particularly the United Nations and global human rights organizations, to hold India accountable for its grave and systematic human rights violations in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), to bring an immediate end to the ongoing Indian atrocities in the occupied territory and to actively work towards the resolution of this long-festering dispute.

“The United Nations, in particular, owes it to the Kashmir people,” the president said in a message on observance of Kashmir Black Day.

The president further said that given India’s recent hostilities towards Pakistan, the occasion of Kashmir Black Day highlighted that lasting peace and stability in South Asia was contingent upon a just and lasting resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions.

On this day in 1947, he said, Indian forces entered Srinagar in blatant violation of international law, moral principles, and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. Consequently, one of the darkest chapters in modern history began.

Since then, generations of innocent men, women, and children in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) had endured unimaginable suffering under occupation, marked by violence, repression, and denial of their fundamental rights, he added.

After 5 August 2019, President Zardari further said this brutal campaign had only intensified, adding India had unilaterally revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, imposing a military siege, destructing properties of Kashmiris to inflict ‘collective punishment’ and enforcing draconian laws that strip the Kashmiri people of their fundamental freedoms.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif said that lasting peace and stability in South Asia would remain elusive without the just and peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and wishes of the Kashmiri people.

In a message on Kashmir Black Day observed on October 27, he said, “Every year the 27th of October marks the darkest day in the history of Kashmir. It was on this day, seventy-eight years ago, that the Indian Occupation forces landed in Srinagar and annexed it – a tragic chapter in human history that continues to this day. Ever since that fateful day, India continues to deny the Kashmiri people their inalienable right to self-determination, as enshrined in numerous resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.”

The prime minister said, “Since August 5, 2019, India has further intensified its illegal and unilateral actions, aimed at altering the demography and political status of IIOJK. In addition to human rights abuses, massive curbs have been imposed on freedom of movement and expression.”