Around 57 civilians were killed while and 300 shops and 100 houses burnt in the incident. PHOTO: FILE
A protest rally was taken out here on Monday to remember the victims of a ‘massacre and vandalism’ in Sopore by Indian forces in 1993.
On January 6, 1993, around 57 civilians were killed while and 300 shops and 100 houses burnt in Sopore, allegedly by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF). The International Forum for Justice and Human Rights of Jammu and Kashmir (IFJHRJK) organised the rally, taken out from the central press club and culminated at Gharipan Chowk.
IFJHRJK-AJK chief organizer Nisar Ahmad Khan and All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) AJK-chapter leaders including Altaf Hussain Wani, Abdul Hamid Lone and others led the protest rally.
Protesters shouted anti-India slogans such as “stop killings in Kashmir” and “India go back”.
Khan said that “we demand justice for the victims of the 1993 massacre and vandalism in Sopore by Indian forces”.
He urged the human rights organisation around the world to put pressure on India to stop human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir.
Wani said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir be given rights as enunciated by the United Nations in its charters. “Whosoever tries to crush our legitimate movement will face punishment sooner or later under international law,” he said.
Muzaffarabad Bar Council Secretary General Asim Masood, All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference leader Murtaza Geelani, AJK prime minister’s media adviser Shaukat Javed Mir, Pakistan Tehreek Insaf AJK Women Wing Chairperson Asiya Rafique, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz AJK leader Asif Mustafa and Pasban-e-Hurriyat Chairman Uzair Ghazali also participated in the rally.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 7th, 2014.
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