Pakistan marks day of solidarity with Kashmiris

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD (AA) - Pakistan on Sunday marked the occasion they call Black Day to show solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir on the 77th anniversary of the dispute over the region.

Special prayers were held in Pakistani mosques for Kashmiris who lost their lives during the conflict in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.

Political, social, and human rights activists held rallies in major cities such as Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, and Muzaffarabad to protest the “illegal occupation” of the valley and demand implementation of relevant UN resolutions on Kashmir.

In Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Kashmir, thousands of people, including Anwarul Haq, the region’s prime minister, attended a large rally.

Pakistan’s President Asif Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reiterated Pakistan's "unflinching" diplomatic, moral, and political support for the cause of the people of Kashmir.

"The people of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) have suffered countless hardships during the last seventy-seven years. However, their resolve to realize their inalienable right to self-determination remains as firm as it was in 1947," Sharif said in a statement.

Sharif accused India of taking steps since August 2019 – when New Delhi revoked the region’s special status – to tighten its grip over its part of Kashmir.

"India’s nefarious designs are aimed at undermining the disputed status of IIOJK and denying the Kashmiri people their democratic right to decide their own future," he added.

On Oct. 27, 1947, Indian troops positioned themselves in Kashmir's largest city, Srinagar, after India and Pakistan gained their independence from British colonial rule.

The anniversary of this Indian action is observed by Pakistanis and Kashmiris as Black Day, while India commemorates it as Accession Day.

- Disputed region

Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver is also held by China.

Since they were partitioned in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars – in 1948, 1965, and 1971 – two of them over Kashmir.

Also, in the Siachen glacier in northern Kashmir, Indian and Pakistani troops have fought intermittently since 1984. A cease-fire took effect in 2003.