ISLAMABAD: Acting Chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir National Front, Altaf Hussain Wani, has said that 27 October marks the darkest day in Kashmir’s recent history, describing India’s 1947 invasion of the region as the root cause of the decades-long conflict threatening peace and stability across South Asia.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Wani said India’s “naked aggression” on that day not only derailed the partition plan but also plunged the region into “a quagmire of chaos and instability” that persists even after 78 years.
“The bloodshed that India started in occupied Jammu and Kashmir in 1947 continues unabated,” he said, adding that innocent civilians are still being killed with impunity.
Wani accused India of pursuing “settler-colonial” policies that have instilled fear among Kashmiris, leaving them feeling unsafe even in their own homeland. He said the situation worsened after the BJP-led government revoked the region’s special constitutional status under Article 370 in 2019.
Calling India’s military occupation “a serious threat to regional peace,” Wani criticised the silence of world powers over what he termed a growing humanitarian and political crisis. He warned that the unresolved dispute “will continue to consume precious lives and fuel instability in an already volatile region.”
He said Indian authorities were using “repressive state machinery and colonial-era tactics” to suppress the political aspirations of Kashmiris and silence democratic dissent.
“Despite its international commitments, India has pursued a policy of deceit to neutralise the Kashmiris’ legitimate struggle for self-determination,” Wani said, recalling that the UN Security Council resolutions calling for a free and impartial plebiscite were originally endorsed by India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
Referring to past military stand-offs between India and Pakistan, Wani said the unresolved Kashmir dispute remains “a constant flashpoint” between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. He urged the international community to “take cognizance of India’s prolonged occupation” and to help secure a peaceful settlement in line with UN resolutions.
