Pakistan to send special envoys worldwide to highlight situation in Kashmir

CAIRO - 6 April 2018: The Pakistani government announced Thursday that they will be sending special envoys worldwide to highlight the deteriorating situation in Kashmir, according to a press statement by the Pakistani Embassy in Cairo.

The Pakistani government declared April 6 the Day of Solidarity with Kashmiri people against Indian brutalities.

On Thursday, the federal cabinet in Pakistan held a meeting in Islamabad led by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif gave a presentation on the situation in India-occupied Kashmir.

The meeting discussed Pakistan’s attempts to garner the support of the international community for innocent Kashmiris subjected to brutalities by Indian forces.

The cabinet strongly condemned the indiscriminate use of force by the Indian occupiers, which killed at least 20 people in a crackdown by Indian police in Kashmir on Monday. Hundreds of Kashmiris took to the streets protesting the violent clashes. The Indian government’s forces clashed with Kashmir students protesting Indian rule in the disputed region on Thursday.

Hundreds of people flooded villages in protest after an earlier clash between militants and security forces that killed another 17 people ensued.

The cabinet also reiterated the prime minister's request to the UN Secretary General to appoint a Special Envoy for Jammu and Kashmir, with the mandate bolstered by unimplemented UN Security Council resolutions.

Every year on Oct. 27, Kashmiris observe what they call their “Black Day,” recalling India’s occupation of Jammu and Kashmir in 1947 and the subsequent violence that erupted in the disputed area.

After India gained independence from British rule in 1947, the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir had the option to join either India or Pakistan or to choose to remain independent.

On Oct. 26, 1947 Hari Singh, the last ruling Mahraja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, signed the Instrument of Accession joining the whole of his Muslim-majority princely state to the dominion of India, which was followed by the Indo-Pakistan war.