Pakistan reaffirms solidarity with Kashmiris on 'Black Day'
Indian paramilitary troops stand guard on a street in Srinagar. AFP/FILE
Pakistan reaffirmed solidarity with the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), observing 'black day' on Wednesday on the occasion of India's Republic Day.
"Today, when the Kashmiris in IIOJK and around the world mark 26 January as a black day against India's oppression, the government and people of Pakistan reaffirm their unshakable resolve to continue to raise their voice and extend all possible support for the right to self-determination of the people of IIOJK," the Foreign Office spokesperson said in a statement.
The remarks came in response to media queries regarding Kashmiris observing India's Republic Day as 'Black Day'.
The spokesperson lamented that Indian forces, in the past few days, had intensified the military siege in place in the occupied territory for more than seven decades.
Also read: Pakistan urges UN to take cognizance of India's war crimes in IIOJK
He observed that coercing innocent Kashmiris to hoist Indian flags on Republic Day was "typical of India's high-handedness to project a false sense of normalcy and a hopeless attempt at masking its systematic and widespread oppression."
"The Indian government's decision to award so-called gallantry awards to the personnel of its occupation forces is yet another affront to the dignity of the countless victims of India's state-terrorism characterised by gross human rights violations, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, suspension of fundamental freedoms, rape, and the use of draconian laws such as Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Public Safety Act with complete impunity," the statement read.
The spokesperson highlighted that Pakistan had on numerous occasions presented evidence of crimes against humanity being perpetrated by the Indian forces in IIOJK to the UN and the international community.
"The international community must hold India to account for its oppression, and play its due role in enabling the Kashmiris to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination as pledged to them under the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, without any further delay," the communique concluded.