Daily Times

Pakistan will be observing Black Day on October 27 in solidarity with Kashmiris in Indian Illegally Occupied Kashmir drawing international attention to the ongoing violations of human rights in the region. The day marks the brutal invasion of Indian forces in Kashmir in 1947 following the much-disputed signing of the Instrument of Accession by Maharaja Hari Singh. Since then, the India-Pak conflict arose and has subjected the people of Kashmir to a chain of violence, repression, and political strife that has kept on victimizing the Kashmiris for well over seven decades.

Conflict over Kashmir has been smoldering between India and Pakistan for decades since both claim the region. The international community, starting with the United Nations, had promised to solve the issue, especially through a plebiscite where the people of Kashmir could decide their future. Still, nothing so far has been done about holding such a referendum, and the people of Kashmir go on living under military occupation without being allowed their basic rights and self-determination.

The Black Day represents the consistent, worsened human rights violations in Indian-administered Kashmir. Following the annulment of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, Jammu and Kashmir was stripped of the special autonomous status, and conditions sharply deteriorated resulting in Indian authorities imposing a military lockdown, cutting off communications, and cracking down on civil liberties in the already isolated region. Reports then flooded in about arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, torture, and sexual violence perpetrated by Indian security forces. Kashmiris live under constant surveillance in one of the most militarized regions on earth.

The international community has been silent despite these glaring violations including the United Nations Human Rights Council due to geopolitical concerns and strategic balance with India has outweighed the concern for the safety of the people in Kashmir, and the region continues to silently suffer.

International bodies, especially the United Nations, have not lived up to the promises it made. In 1948 and 1949, the United Nations Security Council passed resolutions, which were supposed to let the people of Kashmir decide their future through a plebiscite. More than seven decades since this promise was made, it remains unfulfilled. India has continually refused to hold a plebiscite for it puts forward a host of political and security concerns that the United Nations resolutions failed to enforce.

The people of Kashmir are thus still in a state of political limbo and deprived of the right to self-determination which the Indians and Pakistanis jointly made a guarantee towards them.

One of the important reasons behind this from international bodies is the fear that it may destabilize South Asia, which houses two nuclear-armed rivals. This geopolitical sensitivity, combined with India’s global influence, has, in fact, kept under a chill any effort to seek a solution to the Kashmir issue.

The crux of the Kashmir problem lies in the unfulfilled promise of self-determination. For sixty years, the people of Kashmir have sought and demanded the right to choose their future, a demand that derives from international law and United Nations resolutions. It has given rise to resentment and unrest within the region with cases of protests, insurgencies, and civil disobedience. India has responded with tremendous hostility to such movements and has been using disproportionate force in crushing dissent. Since Pakistan is a fundamental player in the conflict, it has always used its ground on international forums to assert Kashmir’s right to self-determination. But India hasn’t budged an inch, as it claims Kashmir to be an internal issue and opposed any interference from outside in this issue. India also came to face backlash from human rights wings of the world over this argument that the deprivation of a nation of its right of self-determination is, in fact, a destruction of its fundamental rights.

As Black Day approaches on October 27, 2024, the Kashmir issue works as a sharp reminder of the failure of the international community to demonstrate timely action in the face of gross violations of human rights. The world is in silence today, along with unproductive international organizations and an unkept promise of self-rule, and this has saddled the people of Kashmir with perpetual suffering. Therefore, Black Day is not only a day to console but it will also reflect on the battle for freedom and justice that its people face daily.

It is pertinent to mention that the Kashmir issue cannot be further postponed. International organizations, especially the United Nations, have to reiterate their commitment to the right of self-determination. Black Day serves as a reminder that this is still a far-from-over struggle for the people of Kashmir. It’s a call to the international community to break its collective silence and stand up for people who have been silenced for too long. Black Day Observation shall prove the solidarity while immediately provoking concrete efforts to bring peace and fulfillment of the long-promised right by the Kashmiri nation to choose its future.

The author is presently serving as Assistant Information Officer at PID Karachi