PAKISTAN did not accept Articles 370 and 35-A which provided special status to the occupied region of Jammu and Kashmir. Kashmiris want independence of Kashmir from India since it has never been part of India. To illegally and force-fully annex Kashmir to India Narendra Modi’s Government repealed the law and changed Articles 370 and 35-A on August 5, 2019. Illegal act of India to annex occupied Kashmir is not acceptable for Kashmiris. Pakistanis and Kashmiris strongly reject forced annexation of India- occupied Kashmir im-posed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi against Articles 370 and 35-A on August 5, 2019.
Until a peaceful solution to the Kashmir dispute is reached, in line with the will and wishes of the Kashmiris, Pakistan will continue to raise a strong voice at the UN and on the global stage in solidarity with Kashmir. Pakistanis and Kashmiris observe Yaum-e-Istehsal each year to mark the military siege of Kashmir. Pakistan also commemorates the revocation of Indian-occupied Kashmir’s special status on August 5, 2019.PML-N government has planned a range of activities on August 5 to ex-press solidarity with the oppressed Kashmiris and expose Indian brutalities. Pakistan and the Kashmiris need to highlight Indian atrocities in Kashmir.
On August 5, 2019, India repealed Articles 35-A and 370 of its Constitution, revoking the special status granted to the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who committed to playing the role of Kashmir’s ambassador, makes an historic effort to extend his moral support to the great Kashmiri nation.
The Indian occupied Kashmir has been under lockdown for years and people have been facing atrocities by the occupation forces. The martyrs of the Kashmir freedom movement can never be forgotten. Over one hundred thou-sand Kashmiris have been martyred by brutal Indian forces. Today young Kashmiris idealize the bravery and sacrifices of great Kashmiri freedom fight-ers Maqbool Butt, Afzal Guru and Burhan Wani.
To hide ground realities from the entire world International media is not being given excess by the Modi government to Indian illegally occupied Kashmir. If the situation is peaceful then the press should have complete freedom to re-port from the Indian occupied region of Kashmir. The changes introduced by the Indian government against Geneva Convention and UN rules are unac-ceptable and should be withdrawn by all means.
The Pakistani nation appeals to the international community and world bodies, including the OIC and UN to take notice of the barbaric actions of the Indian forces in occupied Kashmir. Pakistan will always continue its peaceful efforts for the Kashmir cause. Every Pakistani child stands with Kashmiris and the time is not far when Illegally Occupied Kashmir would be free from Indian bru-tal oppression.India snatched the identity of Kashmiris on August 5, 2019, took down their flag and imposed the world’s longest curfew in occupied Kashmir. Despite these atrocities, our Kashmiri brethren are determined in their struggle for self-determination. Kashmiris have decided that their lives and deaths are Paki-stan’s and Pakistan’s life and death is with Kashmir. Pakistan would never leave their Kashmiri brothers and sisters alone
Pakistan has changed the name of Kashmir Highway in Islamabad to Srinagar Highway and installed sign boards on the road to this effect. A memorandum be presented to the United Nations Observer Mission. Pakistan and Kashmir need to expose the Indian illegal aggression and hu-man rights abuses committed in the entire Kashmir valley. The government and Kashmir need to enhance diplomatic outreach by writing letters to the United Nations Secretary General and world leaders, besides interactions of the prime minister with the international media.
Pakistani envoys across the world should engage with the media, think tanks and community to apprise them about the Indian aggression and blatant viola-tions of the repeated UNSC resolutions. Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) and the world over observe Yaum-e-Istehsal to denounce the illegal, immoral and unconstitutional step, which India took on this day in 2019 to strip the IIOJK of its special status. August 5, 2019 added a new chapter in the Kashmiris’ indigenous struggle for their right of self determination as India tried to abolish their identity through demographic apartheid, which was rejected not only by the Muslims but by the Hindu pundits and Buddhists also. On this day, the entire Pakistani nation gives a very strong message of solidarity to their Kashmiri brethren that they are not alone, rather the people of Pakistan support their struggle for freedom from India.
Yaum-e-Istehsal is observed on August 5 with national zeal to expose the real ugly face of India. After its illegal action of scrapping the special constitutional status of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir in 2019 India laid its military siege and intensified tensions in the region.
Kashmir issue is clearly a glaring failure of the UN Laws. Indian occupation, apartheid and ethnic cleansing of Kashmiris is no more acceptable. Muslims of Kashmir and India are badly suffering under the supremacy and Racism of Hindus.
On 5 August 2019, India’s revocation of Articles 370 and 35-A marked a significant escalation in the Kashmir conflict, with Pakistan and Kashmiris condemning the move as an illegal annexation and intensifying global calls for justice and solidarity.
—The writer is author of several books based in Islamabad.
(naveedamankhan@hotmail.com)
