Kashmiris pay tribute to Geelani on anniversary

MUZAFFARABAD:

Pasban-e-Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir organised a protest rally to pay homage to Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani on his third death anniversary.

A large number of people from different segments of society participated in the ‘Continuous Jihad’ rally and chanted slogans.

The participants of the rally held banners printed with the pictures of Syed Ali Shah Geelani. 

Addressing the rally, the speakers said that Geelani was the founding leader of the Azadi Movement in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

They said Geelani spent a large part of his life for the cause of Kashmiris’ right to self-determination, adding he even reached the remote areas and organized the resistance movement.

They highlighted that he always respected people of all religions in the occupied state.

“Geelani called for resolving the issue of Kashmir according to the UNSC resolutions and in keeping with the wishes of the indigenous people,” they added.

Talking about his struggle, the speakers said that he had languished in Indian prisons for 12 years and remained under house arrest for the last 11 years of his life, but he did not compromise on the Kashmir Freedom Movement.   “Geelani started revolution against Indian military occupation in every city and town of Occupied Kashmir,” they pointed out.

Geelani was an ardent supporter of Jammu and Kashmir's accession to Pakistan, the speakers asserted. After his death, the Indian government imposed travel and internet restrictions in Occupied Kashmir and lodged an FIR against his family members for draping his body in the Pakistani flag and raising slogans for the liberation of Kashmir.