Kashmir Council Sweden organized an important event to observe the October 27th as the day of occupation, a day of grief and sorrow. The event took place at Stockholm Waterfront Congress Center.
Describing the objective of the Council, Sardar Tamur Aziz, President of the Council and Emcee of the event said that our objective is to advocate for a peaceful resolution to the Kashmir conflict, ensuring the rights and freedoms of the people of Kashmir and promoting their right to self-determination. Council emphasizes an end to human rights abuses in the region and aims to provide Kashmiri voices a platform in international forums.
Sardar Tamur added that Kashmir Black day is observed on October 27. It marks the day in 1947 when Indian troops entered Jammu and Kashmir changing the regions history. Observance of Black Day is a symbol of protest by Kashmiris and supporters worldwide. It calls attention to what many view as a day of occupation and highlights the region’s struggle for self-determination.
Ambassador of Pakistan to Sweden Bilal Hayee, said that the original sin of the tragedy of Kashmir began when India occupied the State of Jammu and Kashmir by sending its army without the consent of the people of Kashmir. He said that the claim of India that Maharaja signed the ‘Instrument of Accession’ (IOA) is fraudulent assertion as the original copy has never been found.
Ambassador Bilal Hayee emphasized that the claim of IOA was never accepted by the United Nations when the issue was raised at the Security Council. The United Nations Security Council made it abundantly clear that the future of Kashmir shall be decided by the people of Kashmir through a plebiscite which will be supervised and monitored by the United Nations.
“I would like to make it clear that the international agreements, like the UN Security Council resolutions on Kashmir can never become obsolete. It remains active on the agenda of the UN SC as long as they are not implemented. The passage of time can never invalidate the solemn pledges given by the United Nations to the people of Kashmir,” said Ambassador Hayee.
Speaking via zoom, Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Chairman, World Forum for Peace & Justice said that October 27th is being observed as a day of occupation because it is on that fateful day in 1947 that India occupied the state of Jammu and Kashmir. More than 350,000 Kashmiris were massacred by the army of Maharaja (The ruler) in Jammu area alone because they wanted to go to Pakistan. What a strange coincidence that exactly the same time more than 700,000 Palestinian were expelled from their homeland in May of 1948 and the state of Israel was established. The United Nations discussed and debated both the issues of Palestine and Kashmir in April of 948 and agreed upon that there will be a separate homeland for the people of Palestine and the people of Kashmir will be given the right to self-determination to decide their future. Unfortunately, until today, no referendum took place in Kashmir and no homeland was established for the people of Palestine.
Dr. Fai added that we should tell the Swedish parliamentarians that Ambassador Gunnar Jarring, the Swedish Ambassador to the United Nations proved to be prophetic when he said on October 29, 1957, that “the use of force aimed at changing the status quo must be excluded. It also implies that the parties should desist from taking internal legislative measures by which the State of Jammu and Kashmir would be considered definitely incorporated in the territory of one of the two parties and which would prejudice the Security Council’s continued deliberations on this matter.” Isn’t it the answer to the reckless and illegal action taken by Modi Administration on August 5, 2019, when it abrogated Article 370 and 35 A and then enacted Domicile Law to change the demography of Kashmir, Dr. Fai asked? Later Ambassador Gunnar jarring was appointed be the United Nations Special Representative on Kashmir.
Choudhary Zafar Iqbal, the President of the Council thanked the attendees for their participation. He added that the current situation in Kashmir remains tense with heightened security, restricted movement and increased communication blackouts, especially after political changes like the revocation of Article 370 & 35A.
A well known Swedish politician, Anders Tiger expressed his solidarity with the people of Kashmir. At the end of the event, it was unanimously agreed that a campaign must be initiated in Sweden for the release of all political prisoners in Kashmir, including, Mohammad Yasin Mali, Shabir Ahmed Shah, Masarat Aalm, Aaisia Andrabi. Sofi Fehmedea, Nahida Nasreen and globally recognized human rights activist, Khurram Parvez.
—The writer is the Secretary General, Washington-based World Kashmir Awareness Forum.
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