Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) and across the world will observe January 26 (Tuesday), India’s Republic Day, as black day.
According to the Kashmir Media Service, this call has been given by All Parties Hurriyet Conference leaders Syed Ali Gilani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik. The call is supported by other Hurriyet leaders to convey to the world that India has denied the people of Jammu and Kashmir their inalienable right to self-determination.
The day will be marked with a complete strike in occupied Kashmir and anti-India demonstrations and rallies in the world capitals.
Hundreds of youth have been arrested by Indian police from across the Valley ahead of India’s Republic Day celebrations. A large number of Indian troops and police personnel have been deployed in Srinagar and other towns.
Random crackdowns are being carried out and commuters are subjected to vigorous screening. All roads leading to the Bakhshi Stadium, the main venue of official function in Srinagar, have been blocked with sliding barricades.
CCTV cameras have also been installed at all sensitive locations in Srinagar and Jammu.
Hurriyet leaders, Zafar Akbar Butt, Aasiya Andrabi, Farida Bahenji and the APHC spokesman in their statements said that India had no justification to celebrate its Republic Day in Kashmir as it had illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
The Chairman of All Parties Hurriyet Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, in a statement issued in Srinagar asked the international community to understand the seriousness of the Kashmir dispute.
He also called for inclusion of the people of Kashmir in a meaningful dialogue process to find an agreeable and durable solution to the Kashmir dispute.
Meanwhile, the Sikh organization of Indian state of Punjab, the Dal Khalsa, in a statement issued in Amritsar appealed to the French President, Francois Hollande, who is on a visit to India, to impress New Delhi to grant Sikhs and the people of Kashmir their inalienable right to self-determination.
