Pakistan Embassy, Kathmandu organized a talk programme on Kashmir Black Day, titled “Kashmir – A Case of Human and Economic Rights under Occupation”.
Seventy-eight years ago on 27 October 1947, Indian occupation forces landed at Srinagar Airport in blatant violation of international law, igniting one of the longest-standing disputes in modern history. Prominent Nepali journalists, intellectuals, and civil society representatives attended the programme.
During the programme, messages from the President, Prime Minister, and Deputy Prime Minister & Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan were read out. In his message, President Asif Ali Zardari recalled that on this day in 1947, Indian troops entered Srinagar in blatant violation of international law, beginning a dark chapter of occupation and oppression. He stated that generations of Kashmiris have endured unimaginable suffering and systemic repression.
The President called upon the international community, particularly the United Nations, to hold India accountable for its grave human rights violations and to work towards the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering moral, political, and diplomatic support for the Kashmiri people.
In his message, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif called 27 October 1947 the darkest day in Kashmir’s history. He paid tribute to the courage and resilience of the Kashmiri people, noting that India’s actions since 5 August 2019 have intensified repression through demographic changes, restrictions on movement, and incarceration of Kashmiri leaders.
The Prime Minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s principled stance on Jammu and Kashmir, stressing that peace and stability in South Asia remain contingent upon a just and peaceful resolution of the dispute in line with UN Security Council resolutions. He assured the Kashmiri people that the entire nation of Pakistan stands resolutely beside them in their struggle for freedom and self-determination.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, in his message, reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering commitment to the UN Security Council resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir. He strongly condemned India’s continued defiance of international law and intensification of rights abuse following unilateral change of status on 5 August 2019, including ensuing crackdown as part of its ongoing campaign of repression following Pahalgam attack. He called upon international community to take meaningful action to end the suffering of the Kashmiris in IIOJK.
Concluding the session, H.E. Abrar H. Hashmi, Ambassador of Pakistan to Nepal, reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to the cause of Kashmir and underscored that people of IIOJK have inalienable right to self-determination. Their political, economic and other rights have been curtailed systematically. He termed that by employing draconian laws, curbing political freedoms, and limiting economic and cultural space of the people of IIOJK, India was turning the state into a big jail.
Participants of the event reiterated their solidarity with the oppressed people of IIOJK and urged the international community to play its role in bringing an end to human rights violations in the occupied territory. 
