Pakistani embassy marks Kashmir Black Day

Pakistani Embassy in Azerbaijan held a special event to commemorate Kashmir Black Day in Baku, Azernews reports.

Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, think tanks, and journalists representing print and electronic media attended the event.

The ceremony started with the anthems of Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir.

Later, the representative of Azerbaijani NGO gave a speech about the conflict. Thereupon, Charge d`Affaires Sara Ijaz gave detailed information about the conflict and noted that October 27, 2023, marks 75 years of India’s illegal occupation of the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir. She stated that the hapless people of the Indian Illegal Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) continue to suffer under the brutal occupation.

It was noted that the sufferings of the Kashmiri people had increased manifold after India abrogated the special status of IIOJK through the revocation of Articles 370 and 35-A of the Indian Constitution on August 5, 2019. Since then, a fresh wave of state-sponsored terror and oppression has been unleashed, marked by curfews, cordon and search operations, media curbs and blackouts, arbitrary arrests and detention of true Kashmiri leadership, extra-judicial killings, settlement of non-Kashmiris in IIOJK to change its demography and distinct cultural identity, among others. These actions are in clear violation of international law, relevant UNSC resolutions, and the 4th Geneva Convention.

The Cd’A further emphasized that Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognized dispute, and unilateral actions by the Indian government can neither alter the disputed status of the territory nor hold legitimate rights to self-determination for the Kashmiri people.

Participants in the event reiterated Azerbaijan’s consistent support for the cause of Jammu and Kashmir under UN resolutions.

Following the event, guests were invited to see the photo exhibition depicting the plight of Kashmiris under Indian brutality in the IIOJK.

To recall, on October 27, 1947, India invaded the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir and forcibly occupied it against the will of the people. Each year, October 27 is observed as Kashmir Black Day to mark the forced occupation of the valley by the Indian Occupation Forces.