The Embassy of Pakistan in Stockholm Sweden organized a special hybrid event to commemorate Kashmir Black Day marked every year on 27 October.
The key speakers of the event included, Lord Wajid Khan, Member of the House of Lords in the UK, Mr. Afzal Khan, Member of the British Parliament, Ms. Mushaal Hussein Mullick, prominent Kashmiri activist and the wife of Mr. Mohammad Yasin Malik, Chairman of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, Mr. SardarTamur Aziz, and MrZafarIqbalChaudry Chairman and President Kashmir Council, AmerNadeem, President of Kashmir Committee Sweden, Mr. Babar Azeem and Dr. Zahoor Ahmed, the Ambassador of Pakistan to Stockholm.
The event was also attended by journalists and members of the Pakistani and Kashmiri diaspora. A short documentary and special song on the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) were also played to pay homage to Kashmir’s just struggle.
2. Expressing solidarity for the Kashmiri resilience, Lord Wajid said that what has happened in Kashmir over 75 years is nothing short of appalling, disturbing and shocking. He commented that blood of Kashmiris is not cheaper than those of Europeans.
Highlighting severe human rights abuses against the people of Kashmir, he remarked that the Kashmiri people are not asking for charity but for the rights which were promised by the international community through the UN resolutions.
He said that there is need of consistent international policy on Kashmir and whenever there are human rights violations, we must speak out because this is not about Kashmir but humanity.
3. Mr. Afzal Khan MP said that since the occupation of Kashmir the sufferings of its people have worsened with each passing day but their resistance has been incredible in the face of massive hardships.
He highlighted that on 5 August 2019; India unilaterally revoked the Article 370 and went into a new phase of gerrymandering and changing demographics of the territory. Mr. Khan said that 900,000 Indian armed forces are involved in fake encounters, enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions. He called upon the US and the EU to push India to resolve the issue of Kashmir.
4. Ms. Mushaal Hussein Mullick said that 75 years ago on this day deadly occupational Indian forces invaded the heaven like valley of Kashmir and turned it into a living hell.
She highlighted the mass human rights violations and draconian laws which are being used to crush the Kashmiris’ struggle for the right to self determination.
She said that the illegal actions taken by India on August 2019 had further exacerbated the plight of the people of IIOJK. She said that pellets are spread mercilessly as raining water from the sky and every Kashmiri is a prisoner in a cage.
5. Addressing the event H.E Dr. Zahoor Ahmed mentioned that the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is one of the oldest items on the agenda of the UN Security Council. The dispute remains unresolved due to India’s obstinate refusal to honour its commitments and its disrespect for the fundamental human rights and international law.
The Ambassador referred to the inhuman custodial death of Hurriyat leader Altaf Ahmed Shah, who remained imprisoned in the infamous Tihar Jail for the last five years and prevention of Kashmiri journalist SannaIrshadMattoo from flying to the US to collect her Pulitzer Prize.
He said that the Kashmir dispute is about fundamental human rights, adding that a just and lasting solution of the dispute, in accordance with international law and UN Security Council resolutions, is the only way to ensure durable peace and development in the region.
6. Office bearers of Kashmir Committee Sweden and Kashmir Council Sweden said that the world is witnessing an aggressive form of human rights violations in Kashmir by the Indian government.
They added that the human sufferings in IIOJK in the shape of extra-judicial killings, fake encounters, rape and other gross violations of human rights are unparalleled and unspeakable.
They also commented that the illegal actions taken by India on 5th August 2019 have further exacerbated the plight of the people of IIOJK and underscored that the purpose of today’s event is to condemn continued Indian state terrorism in the form of worst human rights violations, as well as to urge the international community to raise its voice in the support of oppressed people of IIOJK.
