PESHAWAR: Like other parts of Pakistan, the Kashmiris settled in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday observed Kashmir Black Day (October 27) by holding demonstrations and protest rallies and condemning the illegal annexation of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K).
The rallies and demonstrations were held in different parts, including Peshawar, Mardan, Swat, Khyber District, DI Khan, Chitral, Abbottabad, Manshera, Kohat, Bannu, Charsadda, Dir Lower, Malakanad, Hangu, Bajaur and others areas of the province where the participants raised placards and banners inscribed with slogans like ‘Kashmir Banay Ga Pakistan and India Go Out of Kashmir”.
The participants also expressed their solidarity with the oppressed Kashmiris of IIOJK, who faced unending brutal oppression, human rights abuses, and organized state terrorism for the last 76 years with steadfastness and bravery.
Every year, the people of Kashmir observe October 27 as Black Day to condemn the illegal annexation of the occupied territory. On this day, in 1947, Indian-occupied forces illegally invaded Jammu and Kashmir against the will of Kashmiris, the Indian Independence Act as well as the UN Charter, and since then, Kashmiris observed Black Day to remind the world about the illegal annexation of Jammu and Kashmir.
In one of the major protests held in In Peshawar, and led by Governor KP Haji Ghulam Ali and caretaker Chief Minister Muhammad Azam Khan whereas caretaker provincial ministers, advisers, assistants, and civil society members also participated while having placards titled “India Go out of Kashmir,”.
The rally also condemned organized state terrorism and human rights abuses at IIOJK and called upon the International Community, including the UN Security Council, to implement its resolutions on Kashmir.
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Addressing the participants, the Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Peoples’ Freedom League, Farooq Rehman, said that the people of Kashmir wanted to join Pakistan as per the Indo-Pakistan partition plan and started a freedom struggle against the then Maharaja Hari Singh and the illegal occupation of India after the latter India illegally entered their troops at Srinagar on October 27, 1947.
“The Maharaja’s authority over Jammu and Kashmir state was officially ended on August 15, 1947, and the Kashmiris were left with no choice but to oppose the illegal move by Maharaja Hari Singh and India’s forced occupation.
Former ambassador Manzoorul Haq expressed that on January 1, 1948, it was India that brought the Kashmir issue before the UN, followed by a number of mutual resolutions that the destiny of Jammu and Kashmir would be decided by a plebiscite under UN supervision.
However, later, India had betrayed and moved away from all UN resolutions, including not holding the plebiscite in Kashmir, which was a shared violation of the UN charter. In addition, on August 5, 2019, he further said India abrogated the special status of the occupied territory, attempting to rob the innocent Kashmiris of their history, language, and identity.
Black Day Observed in Other Parts of KP
Meanwhile, protests were also being held in other areas of the province, where participants of the rallies reminded the world about the Indian atrocities and torture by Indian forces on civilians and Kashmiri leaders. They also showed their commitment and resilience to support the people of Kashmir and the Kashmir Cause till the day the innocent people get rid of the Indian atrocities.
