ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the disputed Kashmir region on both sides of the de facto border — the Line of Control (LoC) — are observing India’s independence day on August 15 as “Black Day” to condemn New Delhi’s recent action of repealing Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.
“Black Day is being observed in protest against illegal Indian action to change the disputed status of Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir,” the government of Pakistan said on its official twitter account.
Islamabad has announced to fly the national flag on government buildings at half-mast on Thursday to protest against the Indian “unilateral action” and use of force on Kashmiri civilians.
On Thursday, the country’s prime minister Imran Khan turned his display picture on micro-blogging website, Twitter, black to lead the call for national campaign.
Pakistan has strongly protested New Delhi’s action of August 5, when it abrogated Article 370 of the Indian constitution which granted special status to disputed Kashmir, a region both countries lay claim over but hold in part.
The move has thus seen a 10-day security lockdown in Kashmir with Internet and phone lines cut to sever all connection from the outside world, which has been viewed with much concern by the international community and the UNHRC.
Hundreds of thousands of people in the Muslim majority state oppose the Indian rule and protest rallies against the Indian action have reportedly erupted in different parts of the valley despite the curfew.
A day early, Pakistan dubbed its Independence Day on August 14 as “Kashmir Solidarity Day” to express support for the people of Kashmir. In separate gestures of solidarity, Pakistan’s foreign minister offered his Eid prayers in Muzarrafabad, the capital city of Azad Kashmir, while Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Azad Kashmir amid the ongoing tension with India on Wednesday.
Pakistan has also formally requested for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council against the recent Indian move on Kashmir.
Tensions have been high between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, Pakistan and Indian, following New Delhi’s one-sided action on a bilateral issue which has turned the disputed territory into two new union states of India.