In observance of Kashmir Black Day on 27 October 2018 (Saturday), the Embassy organized multiple activities to sensitize the local public, academe, intelligentsia, opinion- making bodies as well as electronic, print and social media houses about the Kashmir issue and ongoing struggle of Kashmiris for freedom in the Indian Occupied Kashmir:
Discourse Round Table & Media Seminar
On 25 October 2018, a discourse roundtable and a media seminar were organized in a local hotel. A documentary on ongoing human rights violations in the Indian Occupied Kashmir, highlighted in the UN Report on Jammu & Kashmir issued in July 2018, was shown to the audience comprising of publishers, editors, columnists, anchors and representatives of the Philippines' mainstream print, electronic and social media including Philippine Star, The Inquirer, GNNTV and ABS-CBN News Channels as well as members of Association of the Former Ambassadors of the Philippines (AFAP), which is a foreign policy think-tank in the Philippines. Handouts of the United Nations OHCHR's report excerpts calling for immediate investigation and formation of a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into human rights violations in Jammu & Kashmir were also disseminated among the guests.
In his speech, the Ambassador briefed the audience on the history of Kashmir issue, continuing struggle of Kashmiri people against brutal oppression of India and the ongoing heart- rending violations of human rights in Indian Occupied Kashmir. He said that Kashmir issue was an unfinished agenda of partition and the UN resolutions on this issue clearly stated that the Kashmiri people would decide their fate in a UN supervised plebiscite. He sensitized the audience that the Indian leaders and governments gave commitment to the world community of holding the plebiscite which would have allowed the Kashmiri people to exercise their inalienable right of self- determination. However, despite lapse of more than seven decades, India has brazenly reneged on its promises of implementing UN resolutions and continues to deny the Kashmiris their legitimate right.
The Ambassador also highlighted the atrocities being perpetrated by the Indian security forces against innocent Kashmiris. He appealed to the gathering's conscience for raising voice against gross violations of human rights by the Indian security forces in the Occupied Kashmir. He underscored that the Philippines should exercise its international responsibility given its recently won portfolio as a member of UN Human Rights Council for the term 2019- 21 as well as being a founding member of UN. Ambassador also urged the Philippine Government to use its important role in ASEAN to impress upon India, which is a full dialogue partner in the regional bloc, to immediately stop human rights violations in the Occupied Kashmir.
The Ambassador reaffirmed Pakistan's continued moral, political and diplomatic support to the legitimate cause of the Kashmiri people. He hoped that their right to self-determination would be safeguarded through a free and impartial plebiscite in line with the UN resolutions.
The audience expressed solidarity with the Kashmiri people in their comments and hoped that the international community would deliver its duty of impressing upon India to fulfill its promised obligations towards the Kashmiri people. The channel GNN (Global News Network) aired the coverage. GNN is a dedicated news and public affairs cable channel based in the Philippines which broadcasts nationwide as well as across Asia in Japan, North Korea, South Korea, China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Exclusive TV Interview
On 26 October 2017, Ambassador participated in an hour-long exclusive live talk show at a social media TV Channel. The last 15 minutes of the programme were entirely dedicated to the Kashmir Issue during which the documentary tilted "27 October-Kashmir Black Day" was run on air by the TV channel. The documentary contained sound bites of UN High Commissioner on Human Rights Mr. ZeidRa'ad Al-Hussein regarding his report on Jammu & Kashmir as well as a moving depiction of Indian brutalities against innocent Kashmiris. Moreover, images of pellet gun victims in IoK were constantly run in the background of my talk on gross human rights violations by India. This live show, named Bantay OCW, Ang Boses ng OFW,has a big viewership among overseas Filipinos as well as on Facebook.
The interview can be seen on the Channel's 26th October 2018 post at
weblink: https://www.facebook.com/pg/BantayOCW/posts/
Dissemination of Messages of Leadership
On 27 October 2017, the Kashmir Black Day Messages of the President and the Prime Minister were widely disseminated in the Philippines through Embassy's web outreach. Both messages drew readers attention towards intransigently ongoing Indian atrocities in Jammu & Kashmir, highlighted the report of United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and reiterated Pakistan's unflinching moral, diplomatic and political support for the just cause of the people of Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir.
Manila,
29 October 2018