Alam Zeb Khan
ISLAMABAD: Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Commission (J&KLC) observed Kashmir Martyrs Day and held a protest demonstration outside the National Press Club Islamabad in which Hurriyat Conference leaders, leaders of political and social parties, representatives of civil society, and youth participated.
The purpose of observing the day was to pay tribute to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of occupied Jammu and Kashmir, including Muhammad Maqbool Butt, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Muhammad Afzal Gaur, Burhan Muzaffar Wani, Ashraf Khan Sehrai and Sheikh Abdul Aziz among others.
Martyrs day observed in Islamabad
All-Party Hurriyat Conference Azad Kashmir Convenor Mahmood Ahmed Saghar, Secretary General Sheikh Abdul Mateen, political leader Sardar Mohammad Siddique, Secretary Kashmir Cause Arts and Languages Ijaz Hussain Lone, and Director Kashmir Liberation Commission Raja Khan Afsar Khan delivered their speeches.
Other keynote speakers included Muslim Conference leader Sardar Asim Abbasi, senior Hurriyat leader Gulshan Iqbal, former political coordinator Azad Kashmir Sardar Usman, and others.
Addressing the gathering, Mehmood Ahmed Sagar said that the history of the martyrs starts from 13 July 1931 when the Kashmiris started their struggle for freedom with sacrifices.
Speakers Condemn Indian Atrocities
He further said that the purpose of paying homage to the martyrs was to enlighten the younger generations about the sacrifices of their elders for the noble cause and to reiterate their determination to follow in the footsteps of these martyrs.
He said that India inflicted great atrocities on the oppressed Kashmiris for a long and demanded that India return the body of Shaheed Afzal Gaur to Kashmiris so that he could be buried in Srinagar.
Secretary Kashmir Cause Arts and Languages Ijaz Hussain Lone said that Kashmiris have been struggling for their freedom for about a hundred years when hundreds of thousands of Kashmiris have sacrificed their lives and now the third and fourth generations were facing Indian oppression.
Sheikh Abdul Mateen said that among hundreds of Kashmiri Hurriyat leaders, Mirwaiz Maulvi Muhammad Farooq, Abdul Ghani Lone, Zakir Rashid Musa, Abdullah Bangro, Dr. Saifullah Khalad, Dr. Sabza Zar, Hammad Khan, Riaz Ahmad Naikoo, Zeenatul Islam, Haroon Abbasi, Dr. Sabzzar Bhatt, Prof. Rafi Butt, Ahsan Dar, and many others have laid down their lives for the freedom of their homeland and their nation.
Sardar Muhammad Siddique said being a brutal enemy India massacred Kashmiris to prevent their freedom movement and to deprive them of their basic fundamental right of self-determination. One day India will have to answer to the International Court of Justice for its war crimes against humanity in Jammu and Kashmir. T
He further said that the imperialist government of India should return the bodies of martyred Kashmiri leaders Maqbool Butt and Afzal Gaur buried in Tihar Jail. The international community is being killed in India’s illegally occupied Jammu and under the guise of so-called democracy, Indian atrocities should be taken notice of.
Zahid Safi said that India was involved in the extrajudicial killings of innocent Kashmiris adding that the worst violations of human rights continued in the occupied valley and Narendra Modi’s aggressive and usurping policies have made the lives of Kashmiris miserable.
Sardar Osman said that the blood of Maqbool Butt, Afzal Gaur, Ali Geelani and other martyrs would never go in vain. The night of oppression may be long, but the sun of freedom will rise soon.