Muzaffarabad, (Parliament Times) : August 5 is being observed as Exploitation Day (Youm-e-Istehsal) in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
A protest rally was organized against India under the aegis of Pasban Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir in which Kashmiri women, elders and youth participated in large numbers against the actions of August 5th, 2019.
The protesters were holding black flags and banners on which slogans against the Indian actions of August 5 and war crimes were written.
While addressing the protestors, speakers said that August 5, 2019 is a black day in history when the Indian government abolished Articles 370 and 35A of the Constitution of India and abolished the special constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir unilaterally.
They said that this move by India not only violated the wishes and right of self-determination of the Kashmiri people but also jeopardized the security and peace of the South Asian region.
“Article 370 was a conditional temporary agreement between Jammu and Kashmir and India under which Jammu and Kashmir had the right to its own constitution, flag and autonomous legislation”, speakers stated.
They were of the view that India has unilaterally broken this agreement and proved itself to be the worst enemy of the country and human rights.
Chairman Pasban-e-Hurriyat Uzair Ahmed Ghazali said that Article 370 was a conditional agreement between Jammu and Kashmir and India under which the state of Jammu and Kashmir had the right to its own constitution, flag and autonomous legislation, but India has unilaterally broken this agreement and deprived the Kashmiris of their rights.
He said that with the abrogation of 35A, India has illegally issued domiciles to millions of Indian citizens and illgelly occupied citizens’ land.
Ghazali said that on August 5, 2019, the Indian government divided Jammu and Kashmir into two parts, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, and took away the freedom of the state, due to which all the basic political, social, human and religious rights of the Kashmiri people have been usurped.
“Even before August 5, the Indian occupation government had arrested thousands of Kashmiri freedom fighters, Hurriyat leaders, journalists, lawyers and leaders of political and religious parties. The voice of Kashmiris was forcibly suppressed by imposing restrictions on freedom of expression”, he added.
“The Bharatiya Janata Party government led by Narendra Modi imposed millions of soldiers on unarmed Kashmiris and laid siege to the state. The entire state has been in the form of a prison for the last six years and its residents are forced to live like prisoners”, he lamented.
“The Indian government has subjected all means of social communication to the worst censorship, restrictions on expression, internet blackout, pressure on journalists and human rights activists”, he maintained.
He further said that after August 5, the economic condition of the Kashmiri people worsened, tourism, trade and other sectors were badly affected.
He said that the Delhi government is on the imperialist path of demographic change to erase the Muslim identity of the state. After the abrogation of Article 35A, non-state residents have been allowed to buy land and settle, which has further jeopardized the overwhelming Muslim majority status of Kashmiris.
Uzair Ghazali said that the Kashmiri people are continuing to express intense grief and anger, public resistance, silent protests to get the attention of the international community against the Indian actions of August 5, 2019. Kashmiri youth are also active on the military resistance front against the occupying forces.
Ghazali said that the Kashmiri people observe August 5 as the Day of Exploitation every year to draw the attention of the United Nations, the European Union and the OIC to the Kashmir issue. The Kashmiri people demanding that the biased and political decision of the Supreme Court of India of 2021 be declared null and void.
People in the protest demanded the United Nations Security Council, OIC and international organizations to play their role for the restoration of special autonomous status of Jammu and Kashmir and to implement the UNSC resolutions on Kashmir.
Vice Chairman Usman Ali Hashim, Mehnaz Qureshi Head of Women Wing, Hurriyat leader Mushtaq-ul-Islam and others were also present on the occasion.
