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ISLAMABAD, Nov 5 (APP):President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday paid tribute to the martyrs of Jammu, reaffirming Pakistan’s unwavering support for the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their just struggle for self-determination.
“We call upon the international community and the United Nations to recognise the Jammu massacre as genocide and to hold India accountable for its continuing violations of international law, including its attempts to alter the demographic composition of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) in contravention of the Geneva Conventions, the president said in his message on Youm-e-Shuhada-e-Jammu (Jammu Martyrs’ Day).
On this day in 1947, he said the forces of the Hindu Dogra Maharaja, aided by RSS extremists and armed bands from Patiala and Kapurthala, carried out one of the worst massacres in the history of the subcontinent.
Over 200,000 Muslims were killed and more than half a million fled to areas around Sialkot after the Jammu massacre. In a matter of weeks, the tragedy of 6 November 1947 changed the demography of Jammu forever, turning a Muslim-majority region into a minority through systematic ethnic cleansing.
President Zardari said the massacre in Jammu stands as one of the darkest chapters of modern history. While the world remembers other great human tragedies, the genocide of Kashmiri Muslims in 1947 has never received the recognition it deserves. The scale of brutality was staggering, with entire villages wiped out and families torn apart.
“Kashmiris across the world mark this day to remember the martyrs of Jammu and the unarmed civilians who were slaughtered for their faith and identity,” he said adding that their sacrifice is a stark reminder of the unfinished story of Jammu and Kashmir, a story that began with the forced occupation of 1947 and continues under India’s illegal rule in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) today.
He pointed out that even after seven decades, the pattern of repression remains unchanged. What began as a state-sponsored campaign of extermination by the Dogra ruler and RSS extremists has evolved into systematic demographic engineering by the Indian state.
He said the revocation of Articles 370 and 35-A in August 2019, the seizure of land, the influx of non-locals and the curbs on Kashmiri identity are all part of the same design to erase the Muslim character of Jammu and Kashmir.
“The ongoing occupation, with nearly one million Indian troops deployed in IIOJK, has turned the region into one of the most militarised zones in the world. The world must not look away as another generation of Kashmiris faces persecution, displacement and dispossession,” the president added.
Pakistan will continue to extend its full moral, diplomatic and political support to the Kashmiri people. We stand with them in their quest for justice, dignity and freedom.