ISLAMABAD: Institute of Regional Studies marked Kashmir Black Day today, reaffirming its unshakeable commitment to the Kashmiri people in their struggle against decades of unlawful occupation and grave human rights abuses in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK). Ambassador Jauhar Saleem reminded the audience that India deployed forces into Jammu & Kashmir on 27 October 1947 despite a binding Standstill Agreement, without credible evidence of legal accession, and that the United Nations later recognized the right of Kashmiris to self-determination through numerous resolutions, including the requirement of a plebiscite. Senator Pervaiz Rashid, member Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir Affairs stressed that Pakistan’s national stance on Kashmir has remained consistent regardless of changes in government. He underlined the urgency of building stronger outreach to Kashmiris themselves and mobilizing global opinion, especially since India’s 2019 revocation of Articles 370 and 35-A opened doors to demographic engineering in the region. DNA
