August 5 Black Day: Pakistan Condemns Seventh Anniversary of India’s Illegal Abrogation of Article 370
Tomorrow, August 5, 2026, marks the seventh anniversary of what Pakistan terms India’s unilateral and illegal revocation of Articles 370 and 35A in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). Pakistan observes the day as “Youm-e-Istehsal” (Day of Exploitation) and “Black Day,” describing the 2019 move as a blatant violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions, international law, and the Kashmiri people’s inalienable right to self-determination.
The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has once again called on Kashmiris in the occupied territory and across the world to observe a complete shutdown and peaceful protests. APHC spokesperson Advocate Abdul Rashid Minhas described August 5 as “the most illegal, unconstitutional and tragic day in the modern history of Jammu and Kashmir,” when the BJP-led Hindutva government stripped the region of its special status and bifurcated it into two union territories.
Pakistan maintains that the August 5, 2019 action was designed to alter the internationally recognised disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir and to engineer demographic changes aimed at undermining the Kashmiri right to self-determination. Successive National Assembly resolutions and Foreign Office statements have reiterated that IIOJK is not an internal matter of India but a long-standing international dispute pending on the agenda of the UN Security Council.
Islamabad has consistently accused New Delhi of imposing a prolonged military siege, media blackouts, collective punishments, mass arrests, house demolitions, and restrictions on religious freedoms since the revocation. Pakistani officials and Hurriyat leaders argue that these measures amount to state terrorism and grave human rights violations in breach of the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law.
The past seven years have turned IIOJK into an “open-air prison.” Thousands of Kashmiris, particularly youth, have been detained under draconian laws, hundreds of homes demolished, and government employees dismissed on political grounds. Freedom of expression remains severely curtailed, while reports of extrajudicial killings and economic retaliation continue to surface.
Pakistan rejects India’s narrative of “development and normalcy,” asserting that genuine peace can only be achieved through a free and impartial plebiscite under UN auspices as mandated by Security Council resolutions.
Pakistan has repeatedly urged the international community, particularly the United Nations and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, to break its silence and hold India accountable. Officials stress that the continued failure to implement UN resolutions not only prolongs the suffering of Kashmiris but also threatens regional peace and security.
As Kashmiris and Pakistanis prepare to mark August 5 as Black Day through peaceful demonstrations, seminars and awareness campaigns, Islamabad reaffirms its unwavering political, diplomatic and moral support for the Kashmiri people’s just struggle until their right to self-determination is realised in accordance with international law and UN resolutions.
