Protest rallies mark Kashmir Black Day

People from all walks of life attend APHC rally near Indian High Commission; held Kashmir shut in protest


APP October 28, 2017
A file photo of Indian forces in held Kashmir. PHOTO: AFP

ISLAMABAD: Reaffirming Pakistan's ‘resolute’ support to Kashmiri people's struggle for freedom from the illegal Indian occupation, ambassador Maleeha Lodhi  has said a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute is the only pathway for lasting peace and stability in South Asia.

"The people of Pakistan are resolute in their abiding commitment and steadfast political, diplomatic and moral support to the legitimate cause of the Kashmiri people," Dr Lodhi, Pakistan's permanent representative to the UN, said on Friday.

The ambassador who was giving an interview to APP on the occasion of ‘Black Day’ to mark the 70th anniversary of India's massive invasion and occupation of Kashmir said every day of brutal Indian occupation is a black day.

"The story of Kashmir has been an unremitting tale of pain and suffering, for generations of Kashmiri men, women and children," the Pakistani envoy said.

She said for the last seventy years, the people of the disputed valley had waited for fulfillment of the solemn pledge made to them by several UN Security Council resolutions to exercise their right to self-determination.

"The Indian occupation had seen the worst form of state oppression, aimed to subdue the spirit of the people of Kashmir, where over 100,000 have become martyrs to the cause of freedom, she said.

During the ongoing wave of protests, Indian occupation forces deliberately targeted Kashmiri protestors with pellet guns, to maim and blind as many of them as possible.  "India has thus gained the infamy of committing the first ‘mass blinding’ in human history," she added.

Black Day: PM vows Pakistan's diplomatic, political support to Kashmir cause

Lodhi said the recent large-scale and well-orchestrated incidents of braid-chopping in the occupied Kashmir are yet another sinister attempt by the India to violate the dignity and sanctity of women in the occupied territory.

At the same time, she said, India continues to escalate the situation along the Line of Control, in order to deflect global attention from its atrocities in occupied Jammu and Kashmir. This year alone, India has committed over 1,100 ceasefire violations, a three-fold increase from 2016.

"We have warned India to desist from making any strategic miscalculation that could threaten regional peace and stability. While Pakistan has exercised maximum restraint, we are fully capable of responding to any provocation in a timely and effective manner."

Despite Indian tactics, the Kashmiris are firm in their conviction that their quest for freedom cannot be suppressed through the barrel of a gun; their right to self-determination cannot be denied by any false pretense of elections; their indigenous struggle cannot be de-legitimized by blaming others.

"A peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions is both an imperative of justice, as well as the only pathway for lasting peace and stability in South Asia," Ambassador Lodhi added.

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Meanwhile, the All Parties Hurriyet Conference (APHC) on Friday staged a rally near India High Commission to protest against India’s illegitimate occupation of Jammu and Kashmir on Oct 27, 1947.

A large number of Kashmiris participated in the protest rally and strongly condemned India state terrorism. The protesters were holding placards and banners inscribed with anti-Indian slogans.

Addressing the protest rally, the APHC leaders criticised India in strong terms for committing heinous terrorism and human rights violation in Occupied Kashmir.

Speakers warned India that it would be made accountable for these crimes and the Kashmiri people could not be terrified by such heinous violations and acts of terror and India had to leave sooner or later from occupied Kashmir.

Abdul Hameed Lone, secretary information of APHC said over the past few years October 27 has gained significance for Kashmiris at home and Indian Occupied Kashmir and the world over.

“Our protest is to condemn the Indian brutality in occupied Kashmir which should come to an end now as India is violating human rights in worst form in occupied Kashmir,” he said.

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