AJK president vows to carry forward Kashmiri martyrs’ mission

Masood Khan says people of IOJ&K pin their hopes on world parliaments, civil society and United Nations

MUZAFFARABAD:

Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan on Sunday vowed to carry forward the mission of Kashmiri martyrs who offered supreme sacrifice of their life on July 13, 89 years ago, in Srinagar to get rid of the most oppressive Dogra rule.

“Today, we are marking the Kashmir Martyrs’ Day in the most tragic circumstances. The occupation authorities have cancelled the commemoration of this day in Srinagar and the entire occupied territory. We strongly condemn this decision by New Delhi to muzzle the voices of Kashmiris,” he said in a message on the occasion of Kashmir Martyrs Day.

The AJK president vehemently condemned the arrest of senior Hurriyat leader and Chairman of Tehreek Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai under the draconian Public Safety Act (PSA) in Srinagar ahead of the day.

Tracing the history of the day, President Masood said that 89 years ago, on July 13, 1931 the people of Jammu and Kashmir rose to protest against the cruel, autocratic rule of the Maharaja to demand freedom and to get their grievances redressed.

Religious persecution of majority Muslims was at its peak at that time and people of the state were, in fact, being treated as slaves and bonded labour. The Holy Quran had been desecrated, he added.

“It was against this backdrop that Abdul Qadeer Khan gave a clarion call at a gathering at Khanqa-e-Mu’alla in Srinagar on June 21, 1931.

Pointing to the Shergarhi Palace of the Maharajah, he inflamed the audience with his words: “Demolish this edifice of injustice, cruelty and subjugation”, the AJK president recalled.

Qadeer, he said, was arrested and tried on sedition charges. “But the words he articulated galvanised and mobilised the people of Jammu and Kashmir. On July 13, during his trial, witnessed by thousands of people, a man who stood to make a call to prayer was shot dead by the Maharajah’s police. In all, 22 men rose to compete the Azan (call to prayer). All were shot dead. These men gave their life for liberty and human dignity.”

President Masood went on to say that mission “left incomplete by our martyrs has yet to be completed and maintained that today, under a fascist, settler-colonial rule of the BJP-RSS regime, Kashmiris are being killed, blinded, disappeared, illegally detained and tortured”.

He regretted that women of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K) have been raped to impose collective punishment on the besieged population.

“Nearly 900,000 occupation forces are brutalising Kashmiris. Under New Domicile Rules, thousands of non-native Hindus from India are being settled in the occupied territory to turn Muslim majority to a minority, to pillage Kashmiris’ jobs and livelihoods, and to steal their land. This is the worst instance of brazen colonisation in the 21st century.”

In memory of Kashmiri martyrs, the AJK president reiterated his strong resolve that to continue the freedom struggle until the people of Jammu and Kashmir realise their right to self-determination. He appealed to the international community to support the just struggle of the Kashmir and dismantle the BJP-RSS machinery of terror.

He said that people of Occupied Kashmir pin their hopes on world parliaments, civil society and the United Nations.

“Words are not enough. Concrete actions must be taken to save Kashmiris. Kashmiri youth are restive and furious at Indian atrocities and the world’s effete attention. The time is of the essence. Let’s save Kashmir and Kashmiris from annihilation.”