As the country marks five years since India revoked special autonomy for occupied Kashmir, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called on New Delhi to move from “dispute denial to dispute resolution” for lasting peace in South Asia.
Pakistan is celebrating Youm-i-Istehsal (Day of Exploitation) today to commemorate the fifth anniversary of India’s abrogation of Kashmir’s special autonomy and to show solidarity with Kashmiris.
In August 2019, the Narendra Modi-led Indian government stripped the Muslim-majority territory of its special status by abrogating Article 370 of the constitution, splitting the former state into two territories directly controlled by Delhi.
This move allowed people from the rest of India to acquire property in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IoK) and settle there permanently. Kashmiris, as well as critics of India’s Hindu nationalist-led government, saw the move as an attempt to dilute the demographics of Muslim-majority Kashmir with Hindu settlers.
In response to this controversial move, the Pakistani government has marked 5 August as Youm-i-Istehsal from 2020. The day is now observed annually in Pakistan in response to the change of status.
In December last year, India’s Supreme Court unanimously upheld the 2019 regulation, ruling that the IoK’s special status was a temporary provision.
Prime Minister Shehbaz said today that “India must move from dispute denial to dispute resolution” for lasting peace and security in South Asia, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.
He promised that Pakistan will continue to extend its strong moral, political and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people until their inalienable right to self-determination is realized.
Shehbaz also posted on X and reiterated his “unwavering solidarity” with Kashmiris, stressing that their right to self-determination was mandated by United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.
The prime minister called on the international community to “make efforts to ensure justice and peace in the region.”
In a statement, President Asif Ali Zardari said that India’s actions in occupied Kashmir since August 5, 2019 demonstrated complete disregard for international laws and the aspirations of Kashmiris.
Land of Youm-i-Istehsal brand
A minute’s silence was observed at 9 am and the national anthems of Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) were also played, Radio Pakistan reported.
She further said that she has called a protest rally and rally of Kashmir Liberation Commission, Hurriyat Organization, trade unions, political parties, journalist community and civil society in AJK capital Muzaffarabad.
Banners, placards and posters were displayed in AJK while documentary films will be screened in major cities of the region.
In the morning, a rally was held at Islamabad’s Constitution Avenue to protest the Indian government’s withdrawal of the IoK’s special status, Radio Pakistan reported.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Amir Muqam, Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan addressed the gathering, among others.
Ishaq Dar speaking in Islamabad. — Radio Pakistan
Dar said that if India considered itself a champion of democracy, then it should allow foreign observers access to the IoK to “assess the atrocities committed” by Indian forces, Radio Pakistan reported.
She quoted the Deputy Prime Minister as saying that India cannot suppress the Kashmiri freedom movement and should announce a plebiscite.
A special session of the ADK Legislative Assembly was also called to mark the occasion, Radio Pakistan reported.
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said revoking the IoK’s special status was “unacceptable”, adding that Pakistan was “for regional peace and stability”.
“The old status of Kashmir should be restored by ending the illegal action of August 5 [2019],” he said in a statement shared by PTV News.
Last week, PTV News reported that a “joint major event of the Pakistani and Kashmiri leadership” has been approved for today, while Prime Minister Shehbaz will visit Muzaffarabad to express solidarity with Kashmiris.
Campaign to ‘Indianise Kashmir’: Deputy Prime Minister Dar
In a statement, Deputy Prime Minister Dar said that as of August 5, 2019, “an intense campaign to ‘Indianize’ Kashmir and transform Kashmiris into a disempowered community in their own country is underway.”
“The Jammu and Kashmir dispute is one of the oldest unresolved international disputes. It has been on the agenda of the UNSC since 1948,” Dar said in a statement, stressing that they have not been implemented even more than seven decades later.
“In the last 77 years, India has tried various methods to maintain its illegal rule over Jammu and Kashmir,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
“The Indian authorities have taken a number of steps aimed at changing the demographic structure and political environment of India’s illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
“These measures include gerrymandering of constituencies, allowing non-Kashmiris to be added to the electoral rolls, issuing permanent residence certificates to foreigners and introducing new laws on land and property ownership,” Dar pointed out.
The foreign minister criticized the Indian authorities for creating an “environment of fear and intimidation” in the region, noting that the number of political prisoners was in the thousands.
Dar said the abrogation of Indian-administered Kashmir’s special status and India’s subsequent actions were in violation of the UN Charter, UN Security Council resolutions and the Fourth Geneva Convention, as under international law Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognized disputed territory and therefore, “no process subject to of the Constitution of India’ could not be used to determine the final status of the territory.
The Deputy Prime Minister also issued a video statement today reiterating that Pakistan will continue to extend its political, diplomatic and moral support to the Kashmiri people until the dispute is resolved as per UN Security Council resolutions.
He argued that Pakistan was an essential party to the dispute and therefore India could not impose any “unilateral decision” against the will of Pakistan and Kashmir.
Indian forces’ actions ‘deeply reprehensible’: ISPR
Separately, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCSC) General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, service chiefs and Pakistan Armed Forces also reaffirmed their “unwavering solidarity with the brave and resilient people” of the IoK, the army’s media wing said.
“We unequivocally support their legitimate and protracted struggle for the inalienable right to self-determination,” the Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.
“The egregious violations of international law by Indian security forces, including the ongoing draconian military blockade, illegal attempts to change the demographic makeup of the occupied territory, and ongoing human rights abuses, are deeply reprehensible,” he said.
Talking about the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), he said the Pakistan government had recently announced the group as “Fitna al-Khawarij”.
“From now on, we will use the term Fitna al-Khawarij to refer to the TTP, while all terrorists associated with the group will be labeled as khariji (outcasts),” he said.
“It is because they are a malicious group; it is neither an ideology nor has anything to do with Islam or Pakistan,” he stated.
He explained that in the first seven months of 2024, 139 soldiers of Pakistan’s security forces had received martyrdom.
“The entire nation pays tribute to the brave martyrs and their families,” he said.
“This shows that Pakistan’s security forces, law enforcement agencies and intelligence agencies are completely focused on ensuring the certainty and continued security of the country’s internal and border security.”
He further said that Pakistan’s fight against terrorism will continue till the last terrorist is eliminated.
Social projects
Apart from counter-terrorism and security operations, the security forces, especially the Pakistan Army, have actively engaged in socio-economic projects, DG ISPR said.
“[The army has been involved in] many social projects, including those related to education, health, social welfare and development, economic self-sufficiency and other collaborative projects between the army, the federation and the provincial government,” Lt.-Gen. Chaudhry said.
He added that the Pakistan Army has particularly targeted the backward areas of KP and Balochistan along with Gilgit Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and other areas.
