Pak needles India, to observe July 19 as Black Day' over Kashmir deaths
Islamabad: In a major snub to India, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday announced that his country would observe July 19 as ‘Black Day’ to mourn ‘killings' in Kashmir, referring to those who died during protests after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in J&K.
Addressing a special cabinet meeting in Lahore to discuss the situation in Kashmir, Sharif termed the "movement of Kashmiris as a movement of freedom".
"Pakistan would continue to extend moral, political and diplomatic support for Kashmiris in their just struggle for right to self-determination," the prime minister said.
"The Prime Minister termed Burhan Wani as martyr of independence movement," Radio Pakistan reported.
He said, the "Indian brutalities will give impetus to the freedom struggle and Kashmiri people will get their right to self-determination for which the whole Pakistani nation is standing behind them."
Read: Burhan Wani was J&K leader, says Pakistan
The Prime Minister directed all the relevant departments to highlight the Kashmir issue at international fora. "Seven hundred thousand Indian soldiers deployed in
Occupied Kashmir could not suppress the struggle of Kashmiris," he was quoted as saying by Radio Pakistan.
On the proposal of Prime Minister Sharif, the cabinet decided that "Black Day will be observed on Tuesday (July 19) against Indian barbarism in Occupied Kashmir."
The meeting also condemned the terrorist attacks in France, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Turkey and Indonesia.
Pakistan has demanded a UN-backed independent and transparent inquiry into the "extra-judicial" killings in Kashmir, terming the situation there a "grave threat to peace and security".
Pakistan's envoy to the UN Maleeha Lodhi met Under Secretary General Edmond Mullet, the Chef de Cabinet of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon here and pushed for the probe, according to a press release issued by the Pakistani Mission to the UN yesterday.
Read: You covet other's land, use terror as state policy: India snubs Pak at UN
"At the United Nations, Pakistan called for an independent and transparent inquiry into the extra judicial killings in Indian occupied Kashmir, calling the situation there a grave threat to peace and security," it said.
Pakistan on Thursday had described slain Hizbul commander Burhan Wani and other militants as people "fighting for freedom" and accused Indian security forces of committing "state-terrorism" in Kashmir.
"The Indian security forces are involved in state-terrorism in Kashmir and the international community should take notice of it," Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria said at his weekly briefing in Islamabad.
In response to a question, Zakaria described slain Hizbul commander Wani and other militants as people "fighting for freedom."
Sharif also announced to convene a joint session of the parliament to discuss the situation in Kashmir.
Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid said the cabinet meeting was exclusively called to develop a consensus on extending full support to the Kashmirs.
