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PoK refugees observe Black Day in Jammu, seek retrieval of territory from Pak, China
Hundreds of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) refugees gathered at Vikram Chowk here under the banner of SOS International — an organisation of PoK displaced persons
Hundreds of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) refugees gathered at Vikram Chowk here under the banner of SOS International — an organisation of PoK displaced persons — to observe Black Day on Thursday.
Black Day is observed on October 22 every year to mark Pakistan’s invasion of Kashmir in 1947. On this day (two months after Partition), Lashkars armed with axes, swords and guns backed by Pakistan Army attacked Jammu and Kashmir and unleashed atrocities on men, women and children, according to the Indian Army.
A two-minute silence followed by prayer was held in the memory of those who had sacrificed their lives during the invasion.
“Around 70,000 unarmed civilians were butchered, women were abducted, raped and horrible atrocities were unleashed upon Hindus and Sikhs,” said SOS International president Rajiv Chuni.
“Without any help or aid from the government, our third generation is suffering now. The J&K state cabinet proposed Rs 25 lakh as ex-gratia grant to each family affected by 1947 invasion, reservation to the wards of displaced persons from PoK in professional and technical education colleges and 8,500 government jobs for unemployed youths. We are surprised that the Centre has not even touched the second and third components of the recommendations and only the first component of the package has been partially released, which in itself is a joke,” he said.
Kundan Lal, one of the participants alleged that the central leadership often made tall claims to retrieve PoK but failed to stop the China-Pakistan-Economic-Corridor. “We had houses and properties in PoK, but India did nothing to take back what is rightfully ours. It’s high time that the same was restored to us,” he demanded.
Jammu Kashmir Unity Foundation, a think tank of intellectuals and prominent persons, held a webinar titled ‘Pakistan Invasion: Not a Tribal Raid’.
After recalling the sequence of events that led to the carnage of the people of J&K in 1947, the panelists demanded that Centre should approach the International Court of Justice to ensure a global-level censure and punishment of Pakistan for inflicting genocide on the people of J&K.
