Pakistan’s continued support to Kashmiri people reaffirmed on Kashmir Black Day in Washington

WASHINGTON: Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Ali Jehangir Siddiqui reaffirmed the country’s continued and unflinching political and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people at a special event organized in Washington to mark Kashmir Black Day.

The special event organized at the Pakistan Embassy was held to commemorate the Day observed around the world every year on October 27, when on this day in 1947, Indian forces landed in Srinagar to illegally occupy the land and launched one of the most tragic chapters of human history.

More than 70 decades, the people of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir are still waging a valiant struggle for their right to self-determination in spite of unspeakable brutalities and violence unleashed by the Indian forces to suppress voices of freedom.

A special video message by Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Sardar Masood Khan, kicked-off the event that was attended by a large number of Pakistani Americans, Kashmiri community members and different segments of American civil society, including students from Washington-based universities and Capitol Hill staffers.

The AJK president condemned the Indian atrocities against innocent Kashmiris and highlighted international legal and human rights dimensions of the lingering Kashmir dispute that has vitiated peace and stability in the South Asian region, making it one of the most militarized regions on earth.

President Khan clarified the perceptions about the dubious instrument of accession by the then Hindu ruler of Kashmir and myth about India’s claims that the onus of demilitarization of the valley, solely lies on Pakistan.

Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador Siddiqui referred to the recent UN OHCHR report on the situation in the occupied valley, highlighting the oppressive legal measures used by India to justify its brutality in the region.

He also cited specific instances of violence as mentioned in the UN report that have been perpetrated by Indian security forces in Kashmir, including torture, killing, forced disappearances and sexual violence.

He called on the American people to debate the Kashmir issue and appealed them to take cognizance of the plight of Kashmir people in the Indian-held Kashmir.
Prominent Kashmir American leaders delivered speeches on the occasion to shed light on various aspects of the Kashmir dispute, with special reference to the innocent Kashmiri civilians, who are facing worst brutalities at the hands of the Indian troops for decades.

Those who spoke included Touqir Hussain, former Ambassador and Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University, Dr. Imtiaz Khan, Professor at School of Medicine and Health Services at George Washington University, and Sardar Zulfiqar Khan, a prominent Kashmir American leader.

A documentary was screened on the occasion, showing the struggle of the Kashmiri people in the face of atrocities being perpetrated by the Indian occupation forces. A minute of silence was observed to honor those Kashmiris martyred by the Indian security forces during the past 70 years of struggle.