Speakers at a Kashmir Black Day event in New York paid tribute to the Kashmiri people’s sacrifices and called on the international community to honour the mandate of the UNSC resolutions by allowing Kashmiris to determine their future. The event, organised by Pakistan’s Permanent Mission to the UN together with the Consulate General of Pakistan in New York, focused on demographic engineering and a colonial settler project in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad delivered the keynote address reaffirming Pakistan’s steadfast support for the Kashmiri right to self-determination and saying that Pakistan continues to raise the dispute across multiple UN forums. He criticised India’s actions since August 2019—citing land confiscations, domicile law changes and gerrymandering—as violations of international humanitarian law and as measures that undermine the intent of UNSC resolutions. The ambassador also highlighted the relevance of the recent ICJ advisory opinion on occupation to the situation in Kashmir.
Aamer Ahmad Atozai, Consul General in New York, described the persistence of Kashmiri resistance despite repression and reiterated concerns about attempts to erase the territory’s identity following the revocation of its special status in August 2019. He urged that history shows injustice cannot permanently silence the demand for freedom and dignity.
Saud Sultan, a researcher and author, reframed the dispute through the lens of settler colonialism and historical erasure, pointing to silenced narratives such as the Jammu massacres and arguing for renewed intellectual engagement to restore authentic Kashmiri voices. Mr. Sultan presented his book to Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad and Consul General Aamer Ahmad Atozai during the event.
Ejaz A. Sabir, who has advanced the Kashmir issue in international legal forums, delivered a legal assessment citing the Fourth Geneva Convention, the UN Charter and the ICCPR. He argued that demographic reengineering and coercive governance amount to breaches of international law and called for full respect for the obligations reflected in UNSC resolutions.
Veteran leader Sardar Sawar Khan traced the dispute to 1947, criticised historical manoeuvres used to occupy Kashmir and thanked Pakistan for its continued support. Raja Mukhtar Khan of JKLF USA and activist Taj Khan warned of growing international scrutiny of Indian policies in the territory and suggested troubling parallels with other occupation contexts.
The event also featured messages from Pakistan’s President and Prime Minister read by Ambassador Usman Jadoon and Minister Asif Khan, underscoring government-level backing for the Kashmiri cause. Speakers urged engagement with youth and modern media to amplify Kashmiri narratives and pressed for international action to implement UNSC resolutions as the pathway to a durable peace in South Asia.
