Kashmiris hold protest outside Pak High Commission in London to mark 'Black Day'

Kashmiri activists held a demonstration outside the Pakistan High Commission in London on Sunday evening to mark the 70th anniversary of tribal invasion of Jammu and Kashmir.

It was on October 22, 1947, that the Pakistan army, disguised as tribal raiders, invaded the undivided state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The protest was organized by Jammu Kashmir National Independence Alliance, an umbrella grouping of Kashmiri Political Parties and Civil society organisations, based in U.K.

The protesters chanted anti-Pakistan slogans and demand an end to forceful occupation of PoK and Gilgit Baltistan. They also called for an immediate withdrawal of Pakistani forces from their territory as per the UN Security Council resolution.

Addressing the protesters outside Pakistani High Commission, Sardar Mahmood Kashmiri, chairman of Jammu Kashmir National Independence Alliance (JKNIA), said: "Islamabad has established the government of Azad Kashmir in this so-called Azad Kashmir, it has no powers. It (PoK government) is working as agent of Pakistan and has never raised voice for Jammu and Kashmir. It has never generated employment opportunities for the people of Azad Kashmir. It has made no attempt to provide education and good roads. But, the puppet government doesn't forget to tell the people that Kashmir is part of Pakistan. Now, this claptrap should be stopped"

Meanwhile, Sajjad Raja, International Coordinator of Dogra Sadar Sabha Jammu and Kashmir, said: "We have gathered today to tell the world that on October 22, Pakistan Army and Pakistan's policymakers hatched a conspiracy to occupy Jammu and Kashmir. And, after 70 years, that conspiracy has totally failed."

In 1947, just months after partition, Pakistani forces, masquerading as tribals, attacked the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir and indulged in plunder and the killing of innocents on an unprecedented level.

The tribals, known as Kabailies, were employed by Pakistan to change the demography of Jammu and Kashmir by executing a genocide on the people.