Srinagar
In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Tehreek-e-Wahdat-e-Islami, a constituent of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), has said that the Kashmiri people, by observing India’s Independence Day as a Black Day, have once again sent a clear message to India that they do not accept its illegal occupation over their land.
The Tehreek-e-Wahdat-e-Islami spokesman in a statement issued in Srinagar said that Kashmiri youth celebrated Pakistan’s Independence Day on August 14 in Srinagar and waved Pakistani flags at various places in the city, which was a proof of Kashmiris’ love with Pakistan.
He said that the leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had been making baseless claims that the Indian flag had been hoisted at Lal Chowk in Srinagar on August 15, which was ridiculed by India’s own media.
The spokesman said this time on Indian Independence Day, pro-India politicians in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir also ridiculed India and expressed their grief and anger over the unilateral Indian move of August 5, 2019 by staying away from the August 15 celebrations.
He said that India could not weaken the freedom sentiment of the Kashmiri people through repressive tactics, adding that Kashmiris are determined to continue their struggle till taking it to its logical conclusion.
Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) and around the world are observing India’s independence day as a Black Day to protest New Delhi’s illegal occupation of the valley.
The purpose behind the observance of a black day is to express dissociation with India for its illegal occupation of the valley for the last 73 years besides turning it into the world’s largest prison since August last, when New Delhi revoked the region’s special status.
Hurriyat leaders Syed Aijaz Rehmani and Abdul Hameed Lone in a statement said India had been illegally occupying the valley for the last 73 years. “India has turned Kashmir into a prison, immobilizing over eight million people,” Lone said in a statement.
He added that after New Delhi revoked the special status of the region on August 5, the Muslim majority area of the valley had been under a complete lockdown. “Kashmiris are laying their lives down for our right to self-determination,” he said, adding that India’s attempt to change the status and demographic of occupied Kashmir was against the UN Security Council resolutions.
An Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government spokesman, said the participants of the protest rallies wore black armbands as a sign of their protest against India while black flags were hoisted atop private and public buildings by the protesting Kashmiris.
In AJK, anti-India rallies were staged and processions were held in all small and major cities including Muzaffarabad and all other nine district headquarters of Mirpur, Kotli, Bagh, Bhimbher, Palandri, Rawalakot, Haveli, Jhelum Valley and Neelam valley.—KMS
