PoK observes 'Black Day' to mark invasion of Kashmir by Pakistani Army

People in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) are observing 22 October as a "Black Day", as it was on this day, in 1947, that the Pakistani Army disguised as tribal invaders attacked the princely undivided state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Kashmiris across POK are observing the day by demanding the immediate withdrawal of Pakistani forces from their territory.

In 1947, just months after partition, Pakistani forces, masquerading as tribals, attacked the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir and indulged in plunder and the killing of innocents on an unprecedented level.

The tribals, known as Kabailies, were employed by Pakistan with a conspiracy to change the demography of Jammu and Kashmir by executing a genocide on the people. It was an attack by Pakistani Pathans on the Kashmiri people.

Thousands of people were killed, women were raped, young women were abducted and their whereabouts are still not known.

To mark the day, a series of demonstrations and seminars are being held across PoK and in other parts of the world.

In Mirpur city, a rally is scheduled to take place in the afternoon and will be followed by a conference titled "Taqseem-e-Jammu and Kashmir Namanzoor" at Qaed-e-Azam Cricket Stadium.

Rallies will also be held in Rawalakot, Bagh, Hijara and Muzaffarabad cities and it is expected that thousands of protesters will chant anti-Pakistan slogans.

In London, exiled Kashmiris will demonstrate outside the Pakistan High Commission.

Jamil Maqsood, the leader of United Kashmir People's National Party in Brussels, said, "We are demanding Pakistan to withdraw its forces and end its hegemonic polices towards the PoK region".

"We are also asking them not to use our area as terror hub and a hideout for LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists who infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir. The rights of the people of PoK can only be restored once Pakistani occupation ends and the region is reunited with the rest of the state," said Maqsood.

Pakistan occupied Kashmir has a Prime Minister and a President, but is ruled from Islamabad. The Prime Minister of Pakistan is the chairman and chief executive of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Council that manages all PoK affairs.

Exiled Kashmiri leader and Chairman of United Kashmir People's National Party (UKPNP) Sardar Shaukat Ali Kashmiri said, "October 22, 1947 was a great tragedy and a conspiracy by Pakistan against the sovereignty of Jammu and Kashmir. It was India who saved the Kashmiris from Pakistani genocide."

He accuses the Pakistan Army of committing atrocities on the people, especially on the women of Jammu and Kashmir, and describes Pakistan as "a nation of robbers".

Kashmiri added that the people in Sindh and Balochistan regions are not safe, so how can the people of PoK be happy.

--ANI