Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday paid homage to the thousands of Kashmiri martyrs, especially of November 1947, who sacrificed their lives in their long struggle for freedom.

“In utter denial of United Nations Security Council resolutions and in violation of international law, India has held illegal usurpation and illegitimate occupation of Kashmir. Pakistan and all other proponents of fundamental human rights voice their censure in the strongest terms,” the prime minister said in a message on the Jammu Massacre of 1947, being observed on November 6.

He said that India was guilty of protracted violation of fundamental human rights, the right to self-determination and international law.

“In the history of Jammu and Kashmir, November 6, 1947, is marked as the darkest day and is etched in the minds of Kashmiri people as a fresh wound even after decades. Each year, Kashmiris across the world commemorate it in condemnation as the “first massive genocide” of the Kashmiris by brutal Indian armed forces,” he added.

In November 1947, the prime minister said, the Indian forces and extremists brutally tortured and massacred thousands (237,000) of Kashmiris in a genocidal attempt to change the demographic and religious majority of the Kashmiri population.

“Such an illegal and unilateral attempt by Indian forces to artificially alter the demographic majority of Muslims in Kashmir continues to date. The illegal actions of August 5, 2019, are an extension of the same pattern,” the PM Office Media Wing, in a press release, quoted the prime minister as saying.

The prime minister said that day incarnated the exceptional courage and unwavering determination of the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK) to secure their inalienable right to freedom, adding that the day also testified that generations of Kashmiris valiantly challenged Indian forces and never succumbed to Indian brutalities and atrocities.

He said Kashmiris never shirked away from rendering sacrifices for their just cause.

“Today, the Government of Pakistan and the people of Pakistan pay heartfelt tribute to the valued sacrifices of Kashmiri brothers and sisters. Pakistan extends unequivocal support to the oppressed people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK),” he added.

The prime minister further said that Pakistan also reiterated its commitment on the global diplomatic front that Pakistan would continue to ardently raise the issue of Kashmir and would continue to extend its political, diplomatic and moral support to the people of Kashmir.

The international community should emphatically voice their concerns about the continued violation of human rights and international law by India in Indian illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK), he stressed.

At every international diplomatic forum, he said Pakistan had the principled position that the Kashmir dispute should be resolved in line with the UNSC resolutions and as per the just aspirations of Kashmiris.