Indian oppression in Kashmir decried

Funeral prayers in absentia offered for slain Hizbul Mujahideen commander

LAHORE: Thousands of religious and political party activists staged protest demonstrations and took out rallies across the City on Friday against India’s use of force in Jammu and Kashmir resulting in the death of at least 39 people.

The protesters who had gathered following Friday prayer shouted India Murdabad; Jang Rahay Gi, Jang Rahay Gi India Ki Barbadi Tak Jang Rahay Gi; and Kashmir Banay Ga Pakistan. They carried banners and placards carrying demands for resolving the Kashmir dispute in line with the 1948 United Nations resolutions.

Scores of Jamaat-i-Islami activists offered funeral prayers in absentia at Regal Chowk for Burhan Wani, a Hizbul Mujahideen commander killed by Indian forced on July 8. A large number of citizens, including traders, attended the prayers.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) staged a protest demonstration in front of Lahore Press Club. PPP leader Samina Khalid Ghurki led the rally, attended among others by PPP activists Mian Muhammad Ayyub, Faisal Mir, Umer Sharif Bukhari, Babar Sohail Butt, Tariq Khurshid and Barrister Amir Hassan.

Calling Kashmir an integral part of Pakistan, Ghurki said PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had started his political career with a movement for Kashmir.

She said PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, too, would continue to support the just demand of the people of Kashmir.

“The people of Pakistan and Kashmir stand by each other. The PPP will always lead from the front the fight for the cause of Kashmiris,” she said.

Majlis-i-Ulama-i-Pakistan activists held a protest demonstration in front of the Badshahi Masjid to express solidarity with the Kashmiris.

The Jamatud Dawa, too, held a demonstration at Chauburji.

Addressing the protesters, the speakers said the silence of the international community, including the UN, on the massacre of Kashmiris was a criminal act. They said it was unfortunate that India had been occupying the Valley by force. They accused India of crimes against humanity.

They said the blatant use of brutal force against Kashmiris had the potential to sabotage regional peace. They demanded that the international community and the Organisation of Islamic Conference play their role in resolving the Kashmir dispute according to the UN resolutions.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 16^th, 2016.