ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering political, moral, and diplomatic support for the Kashmiri people’s struggle for self-determination, pledging that Pakistan would continue to raise its voice at every international forum until their legitimate right is achieved.
In his message on Kashmir Black Day, observed annually on October 27, Dar called upon the international community to take meaningful action to end the suffering of the people in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
“On this day, Pakistan calls upon the international community to play its due role in bringing an end to the suffering of the people in IIOJK. Their plight deserves not only attention but also meaningful action,” he said.
The deputy prime minister recalled the events of October 27, 1947, when Indian forces entered Srinagar to enforce what he described as an illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir. For seventy-eight years, he said, the people of the region have faced “a systematic and relentless campaign of tyranny, oppression, and subjugation.”
Dar noted that the United Nations Security Council had “unequivocally affirmed” that the final status of Jammu and Kashmir would be determined through a free and impartial plebiscite.
However, he said, India had “blatantly defied” these resolutions, tightening its grip on the territory through repression and military force.
“The human tragedy in IIOJK has worsened in the last six years following India’s illegal and unilateral actions of August 5, 2019,” he said, referring to New Delhi’s revocation of the region’s special constitutional status.
Dar said India’s moves—including demographic changes through domicile laws, imprisonment of Kashmiri leaders, and the imposition of restrictive legislation—violated the UN Charter, Security Council resolutions, and the Geneva Conventions.
He also condemned the recent crackdown in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack, saying thousands of Kashmiris were subjected to arbitrary detention and home demolitions.
“These developments add to India’s long record of human rights violations, well documented by UN bodies and international rights organisations,” Dar said, reiterating Pakistan’s commitment to stand with the Kashmiri people until justice and peace prevail.
