London: The Pakistan High Commission in London hosted a significant seminar on Youm-e-Istehsal, condemning India’s revocation of the special status of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) on August 5, 2019. The event brought together British lawmakers, human rights advocates, and members of the Pakistani and Kashmiri diasporas to discuss the ongoing situation in Kashmir.

According to Press Information Department, High Commissioner Dr. Mohammad Faisal detailed India’s measures since 2019, which he described as attempts to disenfranchise the Muslim majority in IIOJK through redrawing electoral boundaries, issuing domiciles to non-Kashmiris, and manipulating voter rolls. He criticized India’s harsh tactics, including arbitrary detentions, media censorship, communication blackouts, enforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial killings. Dr. Faisal urged the international community to recognize these actions as violations of international law and to support the Kashmiri people’s aspirations for self-determination, peace, and justice.

British Parliamentarian Adnan Hussain, former European Parliament member Shaffaq Mohammad, and several Kashmiri leaders echoed the High Commissioner’s sentiments, calling for an end to human rights abuses in the region and advocating for a resolution in line with United Nations Security Council resolutions.

The seminar also featured a photo exhibition at the High Commission, showcasing the ongoing atrocities by Indian forces in IIOJK, highlighting the human rights crisis and underscoring the international obligation to seek a peaceful resolution to the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.

The commemoration of Youm-e-Istehsal by the Government of Pakistan serves as a reminder of the critical humanitarian issues in IIOJK and the pressing need for an early resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.