ISLAMABAD   -  As India celebrated its independence day on Tuesday, the people of Kashmir from across the globe observed it as the Black Day to condemn the unlawful and forcible Indian occupation, denial of self-determination right and nefarious action of scraping special status of the disputed territory.

The Indian independence day was marked with mass anti-India protest rallies and demonstrations in all small and major towns in the liberated territory including the capital city of Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Kotli, Bhimbher, Rawalakot, Bagh, Palandri, Neelam Valley, Jhelum Valley, Havaili and other towns and villages.

People from diverse segments of civil society including social, political, and other public representative organisations attended the rallies holding black flags and wearing black bands around their arms to mark Indian Independence Day as black day.

The protestors condemned the Indian oppression to convert the IIOJK into the world’s biggest military zone by deploying around a million troops usurping the Kashmiris’ rights to freedom of speech, movement and communications.

The All Parties Hurriyat Conference leadership in its statement said India had no right to celebrate its Independence Day in IIOJK as it was holding the territory against the will of the Kashmiri people.

The leaders said India was rejoicing on its freedom but killing Kashmiris for demanding the same.

Calling it a “matter of shame for New Delhi,” the Hurriyat leaders pointed out that Indian armed forces had mercilessly killed over 500,000 Kashmiris in last 76 years but was still observing its Independence Day in the territory shamelessly. New Delhi, they added, is celebrating its freedom from Britishers, today, but denying the same to the IIOJK people.

Meanwhile, Indian troops, paramilitary and police personnel were deployed in strength in every nook and cranny of the territory, subjecting the people to immense discomfort.

A multi-layer security blanket involving helicopter reconnaissance and drone surveillance was put in place to ensure smooth conduct of India’s Independence Day celebrations in Kashmir. Elite Special Operational Group personnel assisted by Indian army and paramilitary forces carried out area domination exercises around city centre Lal Chowk and Bakshi Stadium, the venue of the main Independence Day function in the valley. The troops frisked vehicles and passersby.

Posters again appeared in different areas of the territory. The posters said that India had invaded Jammu and occupied Kashmir forcibly against the will of Kashmiri people.

The Kashmiris living in Mirpur staged a rally and unanimously passed resolution warning India to abstain from launching any aggression against Pakistan or Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

“Every individual of AJK is fully prepared to make a defense of inch after inch of the motherland – shoulder to shoulder with valiant armed forces of Pakistan if India dared to launch any attack against Pakistan or AJK”, the rally declared.

The rally thanked and paid rich tributes to the people of Pakistan for their unequivocal full support of Kashmiri’s struggle for right self-determination.

The participants expressed grave concern over the fast-deteriorating conditions of the people in strife-torn and fully-locked indefinite curfew-riddled Indian held Jammu and Kashmir for the past 10 days. India, it said, has latterly turned the occupied J&K state into the world’s largest jail and garrison.

They, through another resolution, called upon the international community especially the United Nations to immediately move for getting the special status of the disputed Jammu & Kashmir state restored – for onward early peaceful settlement of the Kashmir issue in line with the UN resolutions.

It urged the world body to take immediate notice of history’s worst Indian act of state terrorism and aggression let loose against the innocent people in occupied Jammu Kashmir by forcibly revoking the special status of the disputed state.

The rally called upon the world body – UNO, international human rights organizations including Amnesty International, Red Cross, Human Rights Watch, and others to immediately move for ensuring the supply of food and medicines to save the lives of the house-detained people in curfew-riddled occupied Jammu & Kashmir state in general and the Muslim-majority areas of the troubled valley in particular.

In his statement, Pakistan People’s Party PPP (Shaheed Bhutto) AJK chapter chief Muneer Hussain Ch Advocate has said that Indian independence day was observed as black day to express hatred against the Indian illegal occupation over their motherland. This symbolic protest was meant to seek world attention towards the atrocities committed by Indian forces in Kashmir and denial of their right to self-determination by the Indian state.

“On one hand India has let loose its trigger happy forces to unleash terror in the region while on the other the occupation authorities are hatching conspiracies to change the population ratio to turn Muslim majority of the state into a minority”, Muneer said.

On July 19, 1947, a meeting of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference was held at the residence of an illustrious Kashmiri leader, late Sardar Mohammed Ibrahim Khan, (later the founder President of Azad Jammu Kashmir) chaired by the veteran leader, Ch Hamidullah Khan because the apex leader, Quaid-e-Millat Ch Ghulam Abbas was put behind the bars by Hari Singh for voicing the will of the people against the Dogra regime. The resolution of the State’s accession to Pakistan was presented in the presence of 59 bold and vibrant leaders.

As was envisioned — the resolution was instantaneously adopted with one-voice amid boom of slogans — Allah-o-Akbar (God is Great) and Pakistan Zindabad (Long Live Pakistan) by the partakers as well as a copious number of Kashmiris, camouflaging the venue of the moot.

The resolution expressed Kashmiris’ outand- out and absolute confidence in the dynamic leadership of the Father of the Nation, Quaide- Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah with the words, “We salute him (The great Quaid) and congratulate him from the core of our hearts with mammoth delight and soul satisfaction on the auspicious occasion of the establishment of Pakistan.”

Giving a stern warning to the Hindu Dogra ruler, the valiant people of the state, with more than 85 per cent Muslim populace asked Singh to declare the state’s accession with Pakistan without any vacillation before August 14, 1947 or get ready to face a cataclysmic fate—if this popular voice of the people is mistreated.

Eventually, India, through a gruesome operation resorted to an illicit invasion of the Jammu & Kashmir state. To thwart this illegitimate and inane Indian act— the heroic people of the state — stood up like an unyielding rock against the atrocious Dogra regime. This culminated into the establishment of Azad Jammu Kashmir as a base camp for the liberation of the rest of the State’s territory from the unjust Indian yoke.