New Delhi [India], October 22 (ANI): The occasion of 'Black Day' on Thursday, which marks the 73rd anniversary of Pakistan's invasion of the State of Jammu and Kashmir, was observed in many cities across the world including Kathmandu, Tokyo, Dhaka, The Hague, Kuala Lumpur and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Several protest rallies and placard marches were held in the demonstration against the barbaric acts perpetrated by the Pakistan armed forces.

Several people in PoK held black flags to mark the protests.

Numerous hoardings and billboards were also placed in different parts of the cities, which called out Pakistan's illegal occupation of Kashmir, and demanding compensation for damage and loss of lives of property.

October 22, 1947 is observed as the 'Black Day', when Pakistan invaded Kashmir and brought in its wake horrifying stories of mass plunder and vandalism.

Thousands of men, women and children were killed while the raiders carried out a siege of the then bustling town of Baramulla.

European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS), in a recent commentary, called October 22 as the "darkest day" in the history of Jammu and Kashmir when Operation Gulmarg was launched in a bid to seize the territory.

According to a European think tank, the tribal invasion had left between 35,000 and 40,000 residents dead, besides, a "grim mark" on the fate of J-K.

"The planners and perpetrators of the tribal invasion were, and remain, without doubt, the foremost enemies of the Kashmiri people. The day the invasion began on October 22, 1947, has to be the darkest day in the history of the J-K," the European think tank said. (ANI)