ISLAMABAD: In a message on the occasion of Black Day being observed in Kashmir, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday said that the world could not ignore Kashmir.

He said, “We are all in danger. If the world does nothing to stop the Indian assault on Kashmir and its people, two nuclear-armed states will get ever closer to a direct military confrontation.”

It was imperative that the international community thought beyond trade and business advantages, he said. “World War II happened because of appeasement at Munich. A similar threat looms over the world again, but this time under the nuclear shadow,” said PM Imran Khan.

On Kashmir Black Day, he said Pakistan was observing this day to condemn Indian illegal occupation and to reiterate our unwavering support to the Kashmiri people. “The Kashmir Black Day represents a dark chapter in the human history when, 73 years ago, Indian forces landed in Srinagar to forcibly occupy the territory and subjugate people of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

The illegal occupation of parts of Jammu and Kashmir by India represented an international dispute, the solution of which was firmly anchored in the relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions in accordance with the UN Charter, he said.

“Despite unabated Indian atrocities for more than seven decades posing an existential threat, India is unable to break the will of the Kashmiri people. International community bears witness that Indian state-terrorism, extra-judicial killing of innocent Kashmiris, unprecedented restrictions in freedom of speech, fake encounters, cordon-and-search operations, custodial torture and deaths, enforced disappearances, incarceration of Kashmiri leadership and youth, use of pellet guns, destruction and burning of houses to inflict ‘collective punishment’ on the Kashmiris communities and other methods of subjugation have failed to shake the resolve of the Kashmiris people in their just struggle for the inalienable right to self-determination.

“India’s unilateral actions, military siege and communication blockade accompanied by illegal measures to bring about demographic change in IIOJK since 5th August 2019, expose yet another dimension of RSS-inspired ‘Hindutva’ ideology. The dangerous mix of extremist ideology (Hindutva) and hegemonic designs (Akhand Bharat) is imperiling regional peace and stability,” he said.

PM Imran Khan said the international legitimacy of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute was enshrined in the UNSC resolutions, which were binding. It was collective responsibility of all member states to ensure compliance by India of its international obligations, he added.

Pakistan urges the international community to take practical steps to stop India from using state-terrorism as a tool to destabilize the region and to work for peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UNSC Resolutions and wishes of the Kashmiri people. This is the only way durable peace and stability can be ensured is South Asia.

For its part, Pakistan will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Kashmiri people and extend all possible support to them until they realize their legitimate right to self-determination.