India's Republic Day - A Black Day for Kashmiris

Even as India displayed military prowess at Rajpath in New Delhi to celebrate the 59th Republic Day on January 26, Kashmiris living on both sides of the Line of Control (Loc) and across the world observed this day, as Black Day to convey to the international community that India’s continued denial of Kashmiris’ right to self-determination is contrary to its claim of being a democratic republic.

Complete strike was observed in occupied Kashmir with all business centres, offices, banks and courts remaining closed.

The APHC leaders, Shabbir Ahmad Shah, Shaikh Abdul Aziz, Agha Syed Hassan Al-Moosvi, Nayeem Ahmad Khan, Fazal Haq Qureshi and 60 Hurriyet activists were taken into custody, when they were holding a demonstration outside the UN observers’ office at Sonawar in Srinagar. Indian polic personnel subjected the demonstrators to heavy baton-charge.

Earlier, the APHC leaders presented a memorandum to the UN office, emphasizing the urgent need to resolve the Kashmir dispute in accordance with Kashmiris’ aspirations. “Being an Asian, heading the world body, we genuinely expect that your excellency would be more concerned about the just resolution of the problem through implementation of UN resolutions of August 13, 1948 and January 5, 1949. By virtue of these, the right to self-determination of the people of this place has been internationally recognised, urging India and Pakistan to facilitate the implementation of these resolution, through a plebiscite to enable the people to exercise their fundamental right,” said the memorandum addressed to Bari Ki-Moon, the UN Secretary General.

On the other hand, a red alert was sounded in the occupied territory on the occasion of the India Republic Day. Srinigar city, particularly the areas around the areas around bakshi Stadium, the venue of the main official function, were put under siege and the troops had taken over all high buildings around the stadium.

In Islamabad, the APHC-AJK chapter organised a demonstration outside the Indian High Commission to draw world attention towards Indian state terrorism in the occupied territory.

Demonstrations were also held outside Indian embassies. In London and Brussels to observe the Black Day. Addresing the demonstrators, the Executive Directors of Kashmir Centres, Barrister Abdul Majeed Tramboo and Professor Nazir Ahmad Shawl, expressed great concern over the growing human rights violations by Indian occupation forces in Jammu and Kashmir. Executive Director Kashmir Centre, Washington, Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, in an interview on the occasion appealed India to demilitarize Jammu and Kashmir to pave way for a just solution of the Kashmir dispute.

Unification Move Widely Welcomed

Senior Kashmiri leaders Shabbir Ahmad Shah and Sheikh Abdul Aziz besides Muhammad Azam Inqulabi and Yasmin Raja joining APHC ranks with their parties has sent very positive and encouraging signals to common Kashmiris in the length and breadth of Indian Occupied Kashmir and sympathizers of the Kashmiris’ indigenous movement in Pakistan and across the world. It was always a cause of concern for common Kashmiris who are in the sixth decade of their struggle against foreign occupation and their supporters all over the world that anti-status quo political forces appeared disarrayed, despite the fact that all of them were voicing for one and the same cause.

Describing the new move as timely, the APHC Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said “it will be beneficial not only for the Hurriyet Conference but also for the movement.” Mirwaiz Umar Farooq also clarified that neither elections nor power or perks, but the right to self-determination was the Hurriyat’s goal and “nothing in India’s power can deny this right to the people of Kashmir.”