New york: Pakistan’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations and the Consulate General in New York hosted an event under the theme “Demographic Engineering and Colonial-Settler Project in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir” to mark Kashmir Black Day. The event was attended by people from various walks of life, including representatives of the Kashmiri community.

According to Radio Pakistan, speakers at the event paid tribute to the Kashmiris for their sacrifices and defiance against the Indian occupation forces in their quest to achieve the UN-sanctioned right to self-determination. They urged the international community, particularly the United Nations, to honor its commitments to the Kashmiri people by allowing them to determine their future in line with the resolutions of the Security Council. The speakers emphasized that durable peace in South Asia would remain elusive without a just resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.

In his keynote address, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to the just cause of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. He emphasized that there is complete national consensus across Pakistan’s political spectrum in support of the Kashmiri people’s struggle for their inalienable right to self-determination, as enshrined in the UN Charter and relevant Security Council resolutions.

Others who addressed the event included Consul General of Pakistan in New York Aamer Ahmad Atozai, author of “Jammu and Kashmir – The Forgotten Narrative” Saud Sultan, veteran Kashmiri leader Sardar Sawar Khan, spokesperson of JKLF USA Raja Mukhtar Khan, and Kashmiri activist Taj Khan. Deputy Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN Ambassador Usman Jadoon and Minister Asif Khan read out the messages of the President and the Prime Minister of Pakistan on the occasion of the Kashmir Black Day.