ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the entire region of Kashmir on Wednesday observed Indian Independence Day as Black Day.
The Pakistani government decided to observe this day as Black Day in protest against the Indian unilateral action to change the disputed status of occupied Kashmir.
Black flags are hoisted on roof tops and vehicles across Pakistan and Azad Kashmir to symbolise rejection for Indian nefarious designs.
Protest rallies are being taken out in all small and major cities of the country and seminars are also being organized to highlight plight of oppressed Kashmiris who are being subjected to unprecedented persecution over the last ten days.
Also Read: Eight viable solutions for long-standing Kashmir dispute
Meanwhile, the twitter display picture of Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been uploaded black to mark India’s independence day as Black Day.
In a statement, the Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal said, “We stand with our Kashmiri brothers and sisters.”
The long-standing conflict of Kashmir has resulted in fierce horrific wars and continuous border tensions between Pakistan and India. The two countries which were carved out of the subcontinent in 1947 also conducted nuclear tests because of the more-than-70-years-old dispute, which has become a nuclear flashpoint.
A lasting settlement of the most militarized region in the world is need of the hour. Forces of both the neighbouring countries stand eyeball-to-eyeball along the Line of Control (LoC), where skirmishes take place quite often. Two full-fledged wars have been fought apart from Siachen and Kargil clashes. The issue has strained the bilateral relations between Pakistan and India for decades as it is at core of their foreign and security policies.
On the other hand, India’s brutal occupational forces have committed (and continue to do so) a plethora of inhuman grave felonies in the Himalayan valley, but Kashmiris’ resilience is remarkable.
The Indian government on August 5 announced to repeal the special status given to the occupied Kashmir under the constitution’s Article 370 and Section 35 A, and bifurcated the region into two Union Territories – Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. The arbitrary move is feared to spark unrest in the disputed territory.
