ISLAMABAD: Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC), in Pakistan and worldwide will commemorate Kashmir Martyrs’ Day tomorrow (Thursday) to honour the victims of July 13, 1931, and all other Kashmiri martyrs.
The Day will be observed by a total shutdown in Indian Illegally-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), as well as a march to the martyrs’ graveyard at Naqashband Sahib in Srinagar, where the victims of July 13 were laid to rest. The All Parties Hurriyat Conference issued the appeal for the Day and all pro-freedom leaders and organizations have endorsed it.
In a statement released in Srinagar, the APHC pleaded to the people to support the call for the march and shutdown to send a clear message to the rest of the world that the people of Jammu and Kashmir support a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute per UN resolutions and are unwilling to accept Indian subjugation at any price. To honour the Kashmiri martyrs, rallies, seminars, and conferences will be organized in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan, and all major world capitals.
On July 13, 1931, Dogra Maharaja’s soldiers executed 22 Kashmiris one by one outside Central Jail in Srinagar as a case against Abdul Qadeer was being heard. Abdul Qadeer urged the Kashmiri people to rebel against the oppressive Dogra regime.
Dogra forces shot and killed a young man who began shouting Azaan during Namaz-e-Zuhr. He was replaced by another young person, also killed by the military. Twenty-two young people gave their life in this way to see Azaan through to completion. Since then, July 13 has been observed annually as Kashmir Martyrs Day. —APP
