Islamabad– The morning of October 27, 1947, still casts a long, dark shadow over South Asia’s security landscape. Seventy-eight years after Indian troops landed in Srinagar under the guise of a controversial “accession,” the wounds of Kashmir’s illegal occupation remain unhealed and the echoes of resistance, unbroken.

As dawn broke on Kashmir Black Day 2025, Pakistan’s cities, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Kashmiri communities across the world resonated with one message: justice delayed is not justice denied. Sirens blared, national flags flew at half-mast, and people stood in solemn silence for the martyrs who fell for freedom. Streets of Islamabad, Rawalpindi, and Muzaffarabad turned into avenues of defiance lined with placards reading “End the Siege of Kashmir” and “Freedom is our Destiny.”

Historical Continuum: From 1947 to 2019

The roots of the crisis trace back to October 27, 1947, when India deployed its forces into the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, a move widely regarded as a breach of the partition principle and an assault on Kashmiri sovereignty. But in modern history, August 5, 2019, stands as the second turning point when New Delhi revoked Articles 370 and 35A of its own Constitution, dismantling the region’s semi-autonomous status and opening the door for demographic re-engineering.

That constitutional coup, Pakistan’s analysts say, was not merely an internal decision but part of a long-term strategic project to alter the identity of Kashmir from a Muslim-majority state to a controlled colony under settler rule. The move effectively nullified decades of international agreements and defied UN Security Council resolutions that recognize Kashmir as a disputed territory pending a UN-supervised plebiscite.

Peace in South Asia Runs Through Kashmir

President Asif Ali Zardari, in his official message, described October 27 as “one of the darkest chapters in the political cartography of South Asia.”

“India’s illegal military invasion in 1947 and its unilateral revocation of Kashmir’s special status in 2019 represent the same pattern of arrogance and disregard for international law.”

The President reiterated;

“Sustainable peace in South Asia is impossible without a just resolution of the Kashmir dispute, adding that New Delhi’s actions have transformed the region into a nuclear flashpoint where human rights and strategic stability are both at stake”.

Occupation Cannot Redefine Identity

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering commitment to the Kashmiri cause, asserting that occupation cannot rewrite history nor redefine identity.

The prime minister highlighted;

“Lasting peace in South Asia will remain elusive until India reverses its course of repression and fulfills its international obligations under the UN Charter.”

He stated.

“The revocation of Articles 370 and 35A is an act of constitutional aggression” that sought to dissolve Kashmir’s demography, culture, and political voice. Sharif warned that no amount of military control or media blackout can silence a nation’s demand for freedom,” he added.

A Calculated Attempt to Erase Kashmiri Identity

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar condemned New Delhi’s continued use of demographic manipulation, arbitrary detentions, and land confiscations as tools of strategic control.

“India’s 2019 maneuver was not about governance; it was about occupation by other means.”

Dar declared. And Pakistan will continue to expose these violations at every international forum and stand by the Kashmiri people until their legitimate right to self-determination is realized.

He called upon the United Nations, OIC, and global human rights organizations to go beyond rhetoric and hold India accountable for violating the Fourth Geneva Convention and UN Security Council Resolutions 47 and 122.

Voices from Srinagar: Defiance Amid Despair

In occupied Srinagar, despite heavy surveillance and curbs on movement, messages of resistance emerged through underground channels and social media. Imtiaz Wani, senior APHC leader, said the people of Kashmir have endured 78 years of systematic colonization but refuse to surrender their identity.

“Kashmiris have survived bullets, prisons, and propaganda. What we have not lost and will never lose is hope,”

he said.

Syed Gulshan Ahmed, Vice Chairman of Tehreek-e-Istiqama Jammu and Kashmir, said the post-2019 phase marked a new form of psychological warfare, where India seeks to suffocate the population through information control, digital surveillance, and cultural erasure.

“We are not merely fighting for land; we are fighting for the right to exist.”

He declared.

Altaf Ahmed Bhat, Chairman of the Jammu Kashmir Salvation Movement, called October 27 “a wound that bleeds every day. “The silence of the world has emboldened the oppressor, but every child born in Kashmir carries the spirit of resistance.”
Bhat said.

Human Rights Under Siege

Global watchdogs continue to warn of rampant rights abuses in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Reports from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights document patterns of enforced disappearances, extra-judicial killings, mass detentions, and communication blackouts.

Since 1989, over 96,000 Kashmiris have been killed, thousands have been imprisoned without trial, and entire neighborhoods have been demolished under the guise of “anti-terror operations.” Analysts call it a slow-motion genocide, unfolding in the world’s silence.

The Strategic Equation

Experts believe that Kashmir today is not just a humanitarian issue; it is a strategic fault line that defines the balance of power in South Asia. India’s militarization of the region, combined with its information warfare and demographic engineering, reflects what scholars describe as “hybrid colonialism.” Pakistan’s stance remains rooted in international legality and moral responsibility, viewing the issue not as a bilateral dispute but as a global test of justice and self-determination.

The Spirit That Refuses to Die

As Pakistan and the global Kashmiri diaspora marked Kashmir Black Day 2025, the collective message was clear: occupation can suppress bodies, not the spirit. From Islamabad’s D-Chowk to Srinagar’s Lal Chowk, one call reverberated that the road to peace in South Asia runs through the mountains of Kashmir, and until that valley breathes in freedom, the story of justice in this region will remain unfinished.