MUZAFFARABAD, Aug 15: India’s Independence Day was observed on Thursday as a “black day” by the Kashmiris, who called upon the United Nations and big powers to pressurize the so-called largest democracy to grant them their inalienable right to self determination.

India, said the speakers at different rallies, held across Azad Kashmir, had no moral justification to celebrate its independence because it had enslaved a people (Kashmiris) against their will with the help of its military might.

In Muzaffarabad, a public meeting was held outside Old Civil Secretariat, where participants, wearing black armbands and carrying black flags, chanted slogans against the Indian occupation of Kashmir.

Speakers at the meeting, including the minister for works, Mumtaz Ali Gillani, condemned the atrocities committed by Indian troops in Kashmir, and called for an active UN role to resolve the Kashmir dispute.