Senior APHC leader and Chairman of Democratic Freedom Party Shabbir Ahmed Shah has appealed to the Kashmiris to observe 5th August as a Black Day to convey a strong message to the world that they do not accept India’s hegemony and its illegal control over Jammu and Kashmir.
In a message from Tihar Jail, New Delhi, the incarcerated leader, terming 5th August 2019 as one of the worst precedents of Indian colonialism, said that it was on that day when India stripped the territory of its special status and imposed military siege in the territory.
The Indian government’s annexation attempt, he said, was a brazen violation of the international law and the United Nations resolutions that strictly bar the occupying state from taking any unilateral decision.
Terming it as immoral and illegal, Shabbir Shah said that after the move the entire IIOJK and its population were taken hostage for more than a year by imposing a crippling siege and communication blockade. “The entire Kashmiri leadership, including members of civil society, academia, rights activists and lawyers, were arrested and thrown behind bars to enable complete silence”, he added.
Reiterating the Kashmiris’ pledge to take the ongoing struggle to its logical end, the APHC leader said India must bear in mind the fact that the use of force has always failed to suppress nations and the same thing was being witnessed in Kashmir where Kashmiris have refused to bow before India despite its brutal suppression.
“The Indian government with all its tools of oppression and suppression has failed to deter the determined Kashmiris from seeking their right to self-determination through a peaceful struggle”, Shabbir Shah said, adding the day is not far when Kashmiris would achieve their cherished goal of freedom.—KMS
