Diplomatic Correspondent: The National Revolutionary Council held a solidarity rally in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka on Tuesday, marking Kashmir Black Day and calling for a referendum to determine the future of Kashmir in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 47 of 1948.

Speakers at the rally urged the international community to take effective steps to ensure the rights of the Kashmiri people, including their right to self-determination.

Addressing the gathering, council convener Khomenei Ehsan said Indian troops entered Srinagar on October 27, 1947, depriving Kashmir of its freedom.

“The rights of the Kashmiri people are not a matter of charity or favour; they are a question of dignity, freedom and the right to determine their own future,” he said.

Ehsan argued that India should respect the outcome if the Kashmiri people chose independence through a referendum.

Referring to the situation in the region over the past eight decades, he alleged that Kashmir had experienced a severe humanitarian crisis. Citing reports by United Nations human rights bodies, he accused Indian security forces of involvement in extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention, custodial deaths, enforced disappearances, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence.

He called on Muslim-majority countries to unite and take coordinated steps to end what he described as continued oppression in Kashmir.

Ehsan also expressed hope that Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman would raise the issue of the rights of the Kashmiri people at the United Nations and other international forums.

Other speakers at the rally included Pan Islamic Movement Chairman Advocate Mostafa Jamal Bhuiyan, National Revolutionary Council Member Secretary Dr Nabil Ahmad, Assistant Member Secretary Abdus Salam, Advocate Saiful Islam Shuvo and Shah Ferdous Hasan Nazmul.

Nawab Salimullah Academy Chairman Md Abdul Jabbar and members of the council’s central convening committee, including Md Saidul Islam and Selim Reza Bacchu, were also present.

The rally called for a peaceful and internationally supported resolution of the Kashmir dispute, with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people at the centre of any settlement.