ISLAMABAD: Kashmiri people on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) and worldwide would observe the Independence Day of India on August 15 as ‘Black Day’.
In response to Delhi’s forced sinister action of removing the special status of the internationally recognized Jammu and Kashmir state on August 5, 2019, a private news channel reported that Kashmiris observe August 15—Indian Independence Day—as a black day.
Kashmiris observe all national holidays in India, including Independence Day, as a black day to protest India’s ongoing denial of Kashmiris’ birthright to self-determination and to inform the outside world of India’s worst state terrorism policies, which have left the residents of the occupied Jammu and Kashmir state besieged and held at gunpoint by Indian and Paramilitary troops.
The black day is observed to protest Indian imperialism, which has been forcibly occupying most of the state illegally and brutally for the previous 76 years. The day will be marked with anti-India marches and protest demonstrations in all towns and cities, big and small, on both sides of the LOC. “Black bands will be worn across protesters’ arms as a symbol of hostility towards India, according to the special black day programs’ organizers.
People from all walks of life will hold anti-India protests and parades in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, including the capital city of Muzafferabad and all other nine district headquarters of Mirpur, Palandri, Rawalakot, Haveli, Kotli, Bagh, Bhimbher, Jhelum Valley, and Neelam Valley, to reaffirm their intense hatred towards Indian imperialism.
To protest India for turning Indian-occupied Jammu Kashmir into the largest prison in the world and continuing to violate human rights there since August 5, 2019, protesters will march through main city streets holding black banners and placards.
The National Events Organizing Committee Mirpur district, the grand forum of all public representative organizations representing all segments of civil society, has announced that a significant protest rally to observe Indian Independence Day as Black Day will be held from the city’s District Courts grounds on Tuesday, August 15. Mirpur’s DC, Amjad Iqbal, made this announcement. As in previous years, the authorities emphasized that a sizable crowd from all demographic groups would assemble to mark Indian Independence Day as Black Day. —APP
