The Pakistan government has written to all foreign missions to mark October 27 as a 'Black Day' to push for its Kashmir agenda

Even as India observes October 22 as a ‘Black Day’ in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, the Pakistan government, it seems, has geared up to observe a black day on October 27. While the reason for India observing this day as a ‘black day’ is to mark Pakistan’s invasion of Kashmir only two months after India’s Independence in 1947, Pakistan is also gearing up, and with backing from the top echelons of its government, to push its agenda on Kashmir.

Major Gaurav Arya, the editor-in-chief of the Chanakya Forum, tweeted a document that revealed Pakistan’s plans. The document shows that Takseen Umar, the assistant director of ‘Kashmir Affairs’, sent out a written message to the chief accounts officer of Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs asking for funds for programmes to be held on October 27.

The communication said that the expenditures, amounting to about 1,000 US Dollars (or 170,950 Pakistani Rupees) had gotten sanctioned by Pakistan president Imran Khan himself.

In another document, the Pakistan foreign office also wrote to all heads of missions in Islamabad of other countries, except for New Delhi, on Friday regarding direction from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to carry out programs to observe October 22 as a ‘black day’. The email communication said that the ministry will be briefing a parliamentary committee on steps taken by all the missions to mark the day. It was asked that this be accorded “top priority".

While News18.com has accessed the documents, it could not independently verify their veracity.

The move by Pakistan, backed by its government, assumes significance as India marked this day as a black day in the history of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday. It also comes on the back of several attacks against civilians in the region that have found their connections to Pakistan-backed terror groups.

Why Does India Observe October 22 As a ‘Black Day’?

India observed the day as a ‘Black Day’ to mark Pakistan’s invasion of Jammu and Kashmir in 1947, when the Pakistan army, led by its Major General Akbar Khan, invaded Kashmir looted and plundered several areas of Jammu and Kashmir with an aim to occupy the land. Kashmiris displayed banners that highlighted the atrocities committed by the Pakistan army that affected thousands in an already tense region right after Independence. On 26 October 1947, amid chaos, Maharaja Hari Singh had signed Kashmir’s accession to India.

Pakistan had called it Operation Gulmarg. Shaukat Hayat Khan, who was a close aide of Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah, also played a key role in the mission, that was thwarted by the Indian Army. In his book ‘The Nation That Lost its Soul’, Khan wrote that he was appointed supervisor of the Kashmir operation.

This was the beginning of Pakistan backed terror in the region which has been a conflict zone for decades.

Why Will Pakistan Observe It on October 27?

Reports suggest that the Pakistan government decided to push its Kashmir agenda by marking the day after Kashmir’s accession to India as a ‘black day’ to allegedly stand in solidarity with Kashmiris in India. They have observed this day each year to commemorate what Pakistan has called the “forced occupation of Kashmir" by India. They have turned the narrative around and said that it was the day that the Indian Army came into Jammu and Kashmir illegally.