Islamabad (TDI): President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have once again called on the world community to take tangible measures toward resolving the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in line with the UN Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.
In separate messages marking Kashmir Black Day, observed annually on October 27 to commemorate India’s military intervention in Srinagar in 1947, both leaders reaffirmed Pakistan’s steadfast support for the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
President Zardari urged the United Nations, global rights bodies, and the international community to hold India responsible for its “gross and systematic violations of human rights” in the occupied valley.
He said that durable peace and stability in South Asia would remain elusive until the long-standing Kashmir dispute was resolved fairly and in accordance with international law.
“Pakistan will continue to extend full moral, diplomatic, and political support to the Kashmiri people, who face relentless oppression,” the president said. “We stand united with them in their just struggle for freedom and self-determination.”
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Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, echoing the same sentiments, described October 27 as “the darkest day in Kashmir’s history,” when India occupied the territory against the will of its people.
“For nearly eight decades, the people of Jammu and Kashmir have faced immense suffering and persecution,” the prime minister said. “Yet their courage, resilience, and determination remain unmatched. We salute their unwavering spirit.”
He added that India’s unilateral actions of August 5, 2019, aimed at changing the demography and political identity of the region, had further exposed New Delhi’s disregard for international law and human rights.
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Senate Chairman Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said October 27, 1947, marked a dark chapter in history, when Indian troops entered Srinagar in defiance of international principles and the will of the Kashmiri people.
He noted that India’s forced occupation triggered decades of repression and suffering for the people of the region.
Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs Amir Muqam strongly condemned India’s continued atrocities in occupied Kashmir and reiterated Pakistan’s unshakeable commitment to supporting Kashmiris’ right to self-determination.
Meanwhile, PPP Senator Sherry Rehman remarked that October 27 remains one of the darkest days in South Asian history and a painful reminder of the international community’s unfulfilled pledges to the people of Kashmir.
