Paris/IBNS: Members of the Indian diaspora in France and Friends of India came together to demonstrate outside the Pakistan Embassy in Paris to demand for peace in Kashmir on Saturday as they marked the 75th year of the invasion of Kashmir by Pakistan in 1947.
Elected representatives of Indian origin led the protest demonstration from local governments of cities near the Paris region as well as members of various Indian diaspora associations.
The elected representatives who spoke at the occasion were Selva Annamale, Municipal Councillor from the city of Montmagny and Freddy Patter , Municipal Councillor of the city of Éragny.
Both called on Pakistan to stop exporting terror to Kashmir.
Similarly, the demonstrators condemned Pakistan for its continued policy of disrupting peace in Kashmir and spreading Islamist radicalism in the region.
They also displayed posters on the timeline of Pakistan’s invasion of Kashmir, and its attempts to obstruct development activities in the Kashmir region.
Speakers highlighted the fast paced development activities undertaken in the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
Indian and French flags were flown on the occasion and the national anthem of both countries were sung.
What happened in 1947?
Oct 22 is marked as Black Day for Kashmir when in 1947 the region was brutally invaded by Pakistan.
Black Day is observed to mark the sacrifices made by lakhs of Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims to defeat the invasion of the erstwhile Princely State by the Pakistan Army in 1947, often touted as the tribal invasion.