On August 5 India illegally revoked the autonomous status of Indian occupied Kashmir (IOK) by abrogating article 370 and 35A of the Indian constitution, and decided to split the valley into two separate territories. It was Article 370 that gave IOK autonomous state power and allowed the assembly to make its own constitution. Whereas the Article 35A pertains to defining who does and does not:
- qualify as a ‘permanent’ resident of the state of Kashmir
- have the right to purchase property and land, and
- have the right to settle in the state of Kashmir
While Pakistan celebrated its 73rd Independence Day in solidarity with people of IOK as Kashmir Solidarity Day along the theme of “Kashmir banega Pakistan”, the following day has been declared as a Black Day.
All across Pakistan the Indian Independence day of 15 August is being observed as a Black Day as a protest against the brutalities and human right violations being committed in IOK by the Indian Arm Forces. The decision was taken last week, in a meeting by the National Security Committee (NSC), chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan. NSC took some major decisions on the matter, including the suspension of bilateral trade and downgrading diplomatic ties with India.
The DG ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor blackened the twitter display photo of both his official and personal account to mark the Indian Independence Day as a Black Day. Asad Umar, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Ch. Fawad Hussain among the many have blackened their display photos as well.
Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor wrote “Pakistan observers 15 Aug 2019 as #BlackDay to awaken world conscience about India’s atrocities in Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IOJ&K) since 1947. On 5 Aug 19, India disregarding legal & moral ethics has turned IOJ&K into a jail. Humanity and peace abused.#15AugustBlackDay “
Asad Umar tweeted the view outside foreign office, capturing a mob waving Pakistani, Kashmiri and plain Black flags with a hashtag #15AugustBlackDay
#15AugustBlackDay topped the list of world wide trends on Twitter today.
