ISLAMABAD: As people of Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir dwelling on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) observe black day on Tuesday (today) against the occupation of the valley by Indian forces since Oct 27, 1947, Prime Minister Imran Khan has urged the international community to ensure that India complies with its obligations for peaceful resolution of the dispute in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions.

In his message on black day, Prime Minister Khan reiterated Pakistan’s unwavering support for the people of Kashmir. He said the international community was witness to Indian state-terrorism, extra-judicial killing of innocent Kashmiris, unprecedented restrictions on freedom of speech, fake encounters, cordon-and-search operations, custodial torture and deaths, enforced disappearances, incarceration of Kashmiri leadership and youth, use of pellet guns, destruction and burning of houses to inflict ‘collective punishment’ on the Kashmiri communities and other methods of subjugation which failed to shake the resolve of the Kashmiri people in their struggle for the inalienable right to self-determination.

He said India’s unilateral actions, military siege and communication blockade accompanied by illegal measures to bring about demographic change in illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir since Aug 5, 2019 had exposed yet another dimension of RSS-inspired ‘Hindutva’ ideology of the Modi government.

PM asks world to ensure implementation of UNSC resolutions on Kashmir

The prime minister said the international legitimacy of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute was enshrined in the UNSC resolutions. “It is collective responsibility of all member states to ensure compliance by India of its international obligations. Pakistan urges the international community to take practical steps to stop India from using state-terrorism as a tool to destabilise the region and to work for peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UNSC resolutions and wishes of the Kashmiri people. This is the only way durable peace and stability can be ensured is South Asia,” he added.

He said Pakistan would continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Kashmiri people and extend all possible support to them until they get their right to self-determination.

In his message, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Raja Mohammad Farooq Haider said illegal landing of Indian forces in occupied Kashmir was a clear reflection of the Indian expansionist designs. However, he said, since 1947 India had failed to break the will of the brave Kashmiri people.

Talking to a special envoy of the leader of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Yasin Malick, Rafique Ahmed Dar, the AJK prime minister underlined the need for forging unity and understanding among the political forces to lead the struggle against illegal occupation to its logical conclusion. He said the sacrifices of Hurriyat leaders would soon bear fruit.

Meanwhile, the AJK premier, while talking to British parliamentarian Raja Afzal Khan, praised overseas Kashmiris for their role in raising the Kashmir issue.

National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser said Pakistan was fighting the case of Kashmiris across the world and this struggle would continue till the liberation of held-Kashmir.

Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2020