All Parties Hurriyat Conference leaders have paid tributes to the martyrs of Chotta Bazaar, Srinagar, on the occasion of their martyrdom anniversary.
Over 30 people, including women and children, were martyred when the personnel of Indian para-military Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) opened indiscriminate fire in Chotta Bazaar area of Srinagar on June 11, 1991.
Syed Bashir Andrabi and Khawaja Firdous in a joint statement issued in Srinagar said that there was only one incident of Jallianwala Bagh massacre in the history of India, while during the freedom struggle of Kashmir, twenty such heart-breaking incidents have taken place at the hands of the Indian forces.
They said no power of the world can defeat the indigenous freedom struggle of Kashmiris and urged the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres to take immediate notice of the ongoing genocide of the Kashmiris by Indian troops.
Paying tributes to the martyrs of Chotta Bazaar, they said the sacrifices of Kashmiri martyrs would never be forgotten and the people of Kashmir would continue their struggle till taking it to its logical conclusion.
A delegation of Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Youth Forum led by its Chairman Mohammed Huzaif and comprised Umair-ul-islam, Dr Abrar, Mohammad Arslan and Junaid Ahmed visited the Martyrs’ Graveyard in Srinagar and paid rich tributes to Chotta Bazaar martyrs and Tufail Matoo, martyred by Indian troops on this day in 1991 and in 2010.
Meanwhile, APHC-AJK chapter leader Mushtaq Ahmed Butt in his statement in Islamabad paid rich tributes to these martyrs and reiterated the resolve to carry on the martyrs’ mission till complete success.
He also urged the international community to take stock of India’s ongoing human rights abuses against innocent Kashmiris.
The memories of Chotta Bazaar, Srinagar, carnage, one of the most brutal massacres by Indian troops in illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, still haunt the Kashmiris even after the passage of over three decades.
A report released by Kashmir Media Service, on the completion of 32 years to the deadly massacre in Chotta Bazaar of Srinagar said on this day in 1991, the Indian paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) went berserk after an alleged clash with unknown attackers at Zainakadal in the city. It said the troops opened indiscriminate fire with their automatic weapons all the way from their camp at Syed Mansoor to Chotta Bazaar in the densely populated downtown area of Srinagar. At least 32 people were killed while 22 others were injured in the carnage. The bullets hit shopkeepers, passers-by, a 75-year-old woman and a 10-year-old child.
The report said that even after the passage of over three decades, this bloodcurdling incident still causes a deep stir inside the hearts of the scores of bereaved families whose kith and kin were massacred. It added that 32 years have passed but the memories of Chotta Bazaar massacre are still fresh in the minds of Kashmiri people and the victims have not been delivered justice.
The report said Indian troops have carried out dozens of massacres like Chotta Bazaar Srinagar carnage since 1989 to suppress the Kashmiris’ free-dom struggle. It pointed out that the aim of commit-ting such brutalities was to instill fear among the Kashmiris and intimidate them into submission. However, it said that bold and resilient Kashmiris were determined to carry forward their freedom struggle till it reached its logical conclusion.
The report said, massacres in IIOJK are ugly blots on the face of so-called Indian democracy and the international community must take notice of Kashmiris’ genocide by India. The All Parties Hurriyat Conference leadership and different parties through posters and social me-dia, paying homage to the martyrs of Chotta Bazaar, said no power on earth can defeat the Kashmiris’ right to self-determination movement.—KMS
