Sada-e-Watan Sydney ™
sadaewatan@gmail.com
A Seminar was held in Sydney on Kashmir Black
Day
A seminar was held in Sydney Australia on 27th October 2023 to observe
the Kashmir Black Day. The event was attended by hundreds of participants
especially from Pakistani-Australian, Arab-Australian, Turkish-Australian and Sri Lankan-Australian communities and
representatives of a large number of Australia-based organizations including
Australian National Imams Council (ANIC), Australian Islamic Mission (AIM),
Islamic Association of Western Suburbs Sydney (IAWSS), Islamic Forum for
Australian Muslims (IFAM), and Australian Forum for Kashmir (AFK).
Hon. Lee Rhiannon, former Australian Senator, Sheikh Mahmoud Alazhari, Representative of ANIC, Mr. Siddiq Buckley
Secretary General AIM, Sheikh Usaid Khalil Secretary
General IFAM, Mr. Rab Nawaz (AFK), Haji Nasib Mohammed Secretary General IAWSS,
and Muhammad Ashraf Consul General of Pakistan Sydney spoke on the occasion.
27th October is observed by the Kashmiris every year as a Black Day to
commemorate the illegal accession of Indian Occupied Kashmir with India by
Maharaja Hari Singh on 27th October 1947.
The speakers highlighted the illegality of the Indian occupation of
Kashmir and the catastrophic human rights situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir.
Mr. Rab Nawaz, Coordinator AFK, briefed the audience on the deteriorating
situation of human rights in Kashmir at the hands of Indian occupation forces.
Ms. Lee Rhiannon, the former Senator from Australian Greens Party, spoke at
length against the human rights abuses in Indian occupied Kashmir by the Indian
forces. She emphasized that the world community should take up the issue of
human rights violations in Indian Occupied Kashmir and must not be selective in
raising the human rights abuses in different parts of the world. Mr. Siddiq
Buckley, Secretary General AIM, said that Indian human rights violations in Kashmir
are similar to the ones being committed by Israel in
Palestine. Sheikh Usaid Khalil highlighted the need
for raising the human rights abuses in Kashmir more emphatically. Mr. Nasib
Mohammed urged the unity amongst the Muslim Ummah for stopping the sufferings
of Kashmiris and Palestinians at the hands of India and Israel respectively.
Sheikh Mahmoud Alazhari, Representative of ANIC said
that Kashmiris have an inalienable right to self-determination, which cannot be
taken away by unilateral actions of Indian Government.
Mr. Muhammad Ashraf, Consul General of Pakistan in Sydney, briefed the
audience on the historical background of the Kashmir issue and highlighted the
plight of Kashmiri people under curfews, lockdown and
communication blockade. He said that the people of Kashmir appealed to the
conscience of the civilized world and called upon the international community
to play its role in ensuring their right to self-determination and safeguarding
them from the grave human rights abuses.
CG Muhammad Ashraf
Lee Rhiannon {Former Senator}
Mr. Siddiq Buckley
. Sheikh Mahmoud Alazhari (ANIC)
Mr. Nasib Mohammed
MC: Mr Mazhar Ali
