Illegally detained senior leader of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, has urged the Kashmiris to observe Indian Republic Day, January 26, as a Black Day to convey the message to the world that India’s continued denial of right to self-determination to them is contrary to its claims of being a democratic country.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Shabbir Ahmed Shah in his message from New Delhi’s infamous Tihar jail said India’s unlawful and forcible occupation of Jammu and Kashmir is acceptable to the Kashmiris.
He said the country that is grossly involved in death and destruction in occupied Kashmir and holding millions of Kashmiris hostage at the gunpoint has no right whatsoever to observe its Republic Day. He said the entire world knows that India is a usurper that has always trampled down the Kashmiris’ aspirations under the jackboots besides keeping them under illegal military occupation for the last over 76 years.
The APHC senior leader reiterated the Kashmiris’ resolve to take the ongoing freedom movement to its logical end despite Indian state terrorism. He added that the Kashmiri people have offered matchless sacrifices during the past several decades and would continue their struggle unless they achieve their cherished goal of freedom from Indian illegal occupation.
Meanwhile, other APHC leaders including Professor Abdul Ghani Butt, Bilal Ahmed Siddiqi, Ghulam Muhammad Khan Sopori, Khawaja Firdous, Syed Bashir Andrabi, Muhammad Shafi Lone, Yasmeen Raja, Hekeem Abdul Rassheed, Ghulam Nabi War, Abdul Samad Inqilabi, Ms Hafza, Maulvi Musaib Nadvi, Muhammad Aaqib, Advocate Muzammil Shabbir, Hafiz Rafique Ahmed and Advocate Zahoor Ahmed in their statements issued in Srinagar also asked the people of occupied Kashmir to observe complete shutdown on Friday to mark the Indian Republic Day as a Black Day. They said India has no justification to celebrate its Republic Day in an internationally-recognised disputed territory. They appealed to the international community to play its role in resolving the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the Kashmiris’ aspirations for ensuring durable peace in the region.
On the other hand, APHC-AJK leaders including Mushtaq Ahmed Butt, Zahid Safi, Zahid Ashraf, Javeed Ahmed Butt, Shaikh Yaqoob, Advocate Parvaiz Ahmed, Chaudhry Shaheen Iqbal and Altaf Ahmed Butt in their statements issue in Islamabad said the Kashmiris action of observing the Indian Republic Day as a Black Day is justified as New Delhi has illegally occupied their homeland for the last over seven decades. They deplored that the world’s silence on the Indian brutalities in occupied Kashmir has resulted in the continued suffering of the Kashmiri people.—KMS
