A massive march will be conducted from Jamia Masjid to Naqshband Sahib in Srinagar on Monday to mark the Kashmir Martyrs’ Day.
Hurriyet leaders, Syed Ali Gilani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik will jointly lead the march. They have appealed to the people to converge at the Jamia Masjid after Zuhr prayers for onward march towards Naqshband Sahib, KMS reported.
They have announced that no strike would be held on that day in respect of the ongoing holy month of Ramadan. It was on July 13, 1931, when the Dogra troops killed 22 Kashmiris, one after the other, outside the Central Jail in Srinagar.
Mirwaiz said July 13, 1931 marks the beginning of the Kashmir struggle. “On this day, he said the suppressed Kashmiris revolted against the despotic rule of Mahraja. They raised their voices against the injustices and received bullets in their chest thereby laying the foundation of the beginning of new chapter of Kashmir struggle.”
Paying tributes to the martyrs, Mirwaiz said that right from 1931 (in general) and from 1989 (in particular), the people of Kashmir had given immense sacrifices on all counts for the exercise of the right of self-determination and the sacrifices demand that “We should show our commitment towards the cause with complete unity and determination,” he added.
The leaders had gathered in the jail premises to attend the court proceedings against one, Abdul Qadeer, who had asked the Kashmiri people to defy the Dogra rule. Hurriyet leaders, Muhammad Yousuf Naqash, Hakeem Abdur Rasheed, Nayeem Ahmed Khan, Farida Bahenji, and Muhammad Ramzan Khan in their addresses and statements paid rich tributes to the martyrs.
The forum patronised by Syed Ali Gilani and the JKLF Chairman, Muhammad Yasin Malik, in their separate statements said that settlement of the Kashmir dispute was essential for ensuring durable peace in South Asia.
Scores of people were injured when Indian police used brute force in Khanyar, Nowhatta and other areas of Srinagar against the demonstrators who were protesting over the arrest of dozens of youth by the police during nocturnal raids.
Hurriyet leader, Zafar Akbar Butt, led a demonstration at Press Enclave in Srinagar to press the demand for the release of illegally detained Kashmiris. He also led the funeral prayers in absentia for the former AJK President, Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan, who passed away, yesterday.
Hundreds of people from all walks of life attended the similar prayers organised for the deceased by Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front at Lal Chowk in Srinagar.
Hurriyet leaders including Maulana Abbas Ansari, Agha Syed Hassan Al-Moosvi Al-Safvi, Javaid Ahmed Mir, Hilal Ahmed War, Professor Nazir Ahmed Shawl, Muhammad Farooq Rehmani, Farida Bahenji and Muhammad Shafi Reshi in their statements paid tributes to Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan.