ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has reaffirmed Pakistan’s unflinching moral, political and diplomatic support to the people of Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IOJ&K) with the solemn pledge that it would continue till the realization of their legitimate right to self-determination.
In a message on Kashmir Black Day being observed on October 27th to mark the darkest chapters in the history of Jammu & Kashmir, he said on this day, seventy-two years ago, Indian security forces landed in Srinagar to occupy, oppress and terrorize the innocent people of Indian Occupied Kashmir in blatant violation of international law and morality.
“Today, we pay homage to the martyrs for the cause of Kashmir and honour all those who have suffered at the hands of Indian occupying forces,” he added.
The president said the United Nations Security Council through several of its resolutions had upheld the fundamental right of the Kashmiri people to decide their own future through a fair and impartial plebiscite held under the UN auspices.
He noted that reneging on its repeated commitments to the international community to implement these resolutions, India continued on the path of brutal suppression of the Kashmiri people to this day.
“Since August 5th this year, India has imposed an inhuman lockdown over 8 million people in IOJ&K. Use of torture, enforced disappearances and restrictions on freedom of movement and assembly are the stark realities today,” a press release quoted the President as saying.
He said Indian occupying forces were perpetrating unspeakable crimes against the Kashmiri people, including women and children, with complete impunity.
“The indefensible curfew and communications blackout, going on for nearly three months now, is illustrative of the state-terrorism that India has wreaked on innocent Kashmiris for decades. No matter how brutal its policies and tactics, India cannot crush the spirit of the Kashmiri people,” he added.
The president said that Pakistan always believed that Kashmir should never have been mentioned in Indian constitution because it was supposed to be part of Pakistan.
He said the time had proved that it was only the two-nation theory of Quaid-e-Azam that had become the basis for the partition.
He said once the curfew is lifted, the people of Kashmir would express their sentiments against the Indian cruelties including rapes, killing of around 100,000 people and use of pellet guns.
Reiterating Pakistan’s support to Kashmiri people, he said the country would continue highlighting the issue at all international forums.
He said ongoing cruelties in Kashmir was not an isolated case because the minorities in India too had been subjected to such atrocities as killings of Muslims in Gujrat, Sikhs in Delhi and recent policy to revoke the citizenship from around four million people in Assam state.
The president demanded the world to ensure access for media to Kashmir so that they could know what was happening there.
