Message from Dr Arif Alvi

President Islamic Republic of Pakistan

On the occasion of the Kashmir Black Day on 27^th October 2022

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This year 27^th October marks the completion of seventy-five years of illegal occupation of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK). We observe Kashmir Black Day to remember the sacrifices of our Kashmiri brothers and sisters in their just struggle for their right to self-determination by condemning the ongoing atrocities of Indian occupation forces over the last seven and a half decades. This day, the entire Pakistani nation reaffirms its unwavering support to our Kashmiri brothers and sisters in their just struggle for freedom.

Many generations of innocent Kashmiri men, women and children have known nothing but Indian brutality, bloodshed and torture. IIOJK remains under Indian military siege, exacerbated by draconian curbs on fundamental freedoms of the people of the occupied territory.

The situation has worsened considerably over the last three years with India's illegal and unilateral actions of 5^th August 2019 which stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its special status under the Indian constitution. These actions violate the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions which stipulate that the final disposition of the State of Jammu and Kashmir would be made in accordance with the will of the people of Kashmir through a free and impartial plebiscite to be conducted under the auspices of the United Nations.

Today, Jammu & Kashmir has been subjected to unprecedented restrictions on freedom of speech, fake encounters, 'cordon-and-search' operations, custodial torture and deaths, enforced disappearances, incarceration of senior Kashmiri leadership and young boys, use of pellet guns especially targeting the Kashmiri youth, destruction, and burning of houses to inflict 'collective punishment' on the Kashmiris, and other methods of subjugation. Over 690 innocent Kashmiris have died in extra-judicial killings at the hands of Indian occupation forces since 5^th August 2019.

For the last seven decades, the Jammu and Kashmir dispute has been a battle of hope against overwhelming odds, courage against fear, and sacrifice against tyranny. Our Kashmiri brothers and sisters have displayed exemplary courage and endurance braving the worst forms of persecution. We value the blood of thousands of Kashmiris who have sacrificed their lives for decades in the pursuit of freedom from India’s illegal occupation. Kashmiri brothers and sisters will always find Pakistan voicing the cause of the Kashmir dispute at every available world forum.

Pakistan, while demanding an immediate reversal of the Indian government’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5^th August 2019, also calls upon the international community to take practical steps to hold India accountable for its egregious human rights violations in IIOJK and play its part in facilitating a peaceful and just resolution of the long-standing dispute of Jammu & Kashmir in accordance with the relevant Security Council Resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people.