Kashmiri diaspora asks AJK govt to declare Sept 1 ‘Youm-e-Baba-e-Hurriyat’ day

The Kashmiri diaspora has called upon the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government to declare September 1 as ‘Youm-e-Baba-e-Hurriyat’ or ‘Day of Father of Freedom Movement’ to honour the sacrifices of veteran Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Geelani.

In a letter addressed to AJK Prime Minister Sardar Tanvir Ilyas Khan on Tuesday, Kashmiri diaspora leader Fahim Kayani said the commemoration of first martyrdom anniversary of Shaheed [martyred] Geelani on September 1 (Thursday) is a step towards recalling his relentless efforts to free IIOJK from India’s illegal military occupation.

“History of South Asia bears testimony that Shaheed Geelani was one among a few Muslim leaders and scholars whose vision for an Islamic welfare state for the Muslims of the region will be studied for generations to come,” Kayani, president of the Tehreek-e-Kashmir (TeK) UK, wrote to the AJK premier in the letter.

“Shaheed Geelani Sahab’s relentless resistance against India, which wears a facade of democracy, as a neo-colonial power has no parallel in contemporary times. It was the leadership of Shaheed Geelani that unmasked India that people could see a beast in the form of an illegal military regime occupying IIOJK,” Kayani said, proposing seven initiatives to immortalise legacy of Shaheed Geelani.

Geelani, the lifetime chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference in IIOJK, attained martyrdom on the night of September 1, 2021 when he was under illegal detention at his home in Hyderpora in uptown Srinagar, the capital of IIOJK.

The fascist Indian troops raided his home, beat up his family, relatives and neighbours and dragged his body out of the house and later forcibly buried him in the dead of the night.

To pay tributes to Shaheed Geelani’s commitment to the ideology of Pakistan; his respect for the people of Azad Kashmir for liberating this part of the region and his services to the nation of Kashmir towards attaining freedom from the illegal occupation of India, Kayani proposed to AJK PM Khan to declare Sept 1 as ‘Youm-e-Baba-e-Hurriyat’.

Kayani said the AJK government should also hold special programmes to recall the efforts and services of Shaheed Geelani for the liberation of IIOJK while all educational institutions should hold events on Sept 1 to discuss and debate the life and times of Shaheed Geelani.

The UK-based diaspora leader also suggested that the AJK government should announce a policy framework to study the services of Shaheed Geelani so that it is included in resistance literature for future generations.

Kayani urged the AJK premier to call for demonstrations against the forced burial of Shaheed Geelani and seek the return of his body for burial according to the wishes of the Kashmiri nation.

Pointing to the important role of Pakistan in Kashmir dispute resolution, Kayani said the office of AJK prime minister should engage with the government of Pakistan and its different institutions and different political parties of Pakistan to release special messages and hold special programmes to commemorate the first martyrdom anniversary of Shaheed Geelani.

He added that the office of AJK prime minister should also invite the Azad Kashmir-based All Parties Hurriyat Conference on the day for a special meeting to deliberate on the ground situation in IIOJK.