Pakistan, Oct. 27 -- Today, October 27, Kashmiris around the world are observing Black Day. On this very day, India landed its troops in Srinagar and, later that afternoon, obtained signatures on a dubious Instrument of Accession from a Maharaja who had already lost power as a result of a local uprising and fled the capital for Jammu. The question is: what validity does the Indian aggression of October 27, and the accession subsequently secured, have under international law?

Once the sequence of events is set straight, the legal position becomes quite clear. On October 26, the Indian leadership ordered an attack on Kashmir. On the morning of October 27, Indian troops landed in Kashmir. They took control of Srinagar in the early hours. Ac...