Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control and the world over have expressed deep grief and sorrow over the sad demise of prominent Kashmiri leader Professor Nazir Ahmad Shawl and paid rich tribute to him for his valuable contribution for the Kashmir freedom movement.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Professor Nazir Ahmad Shawl passed away in London on Friday after a brief illness.
Illegally detained senior APHC leader, Shabbir Ahmed Shah in a message from New Delhi’s infamous Tihar jail, expressed profound grief and sorrow over the demise of Professor Nazir Ahmad Shawl. He paid glowing tribute to the deceased leader for his valuable contribution to the Kashmir freedom movement.
The All Parties Hurriyat Conference leaders including Khawaja Firdous, Syed Bashir Andrabi, Muhammad Shafi Lone, Chaudhry Shaheen Iqbal, Hakeem Abdur Rasheed, Abdul Samad Inqilabi, Fayyaz Hussain Jafari, Sibte Shabbir Qummi, Advocate Muzammil Shabbir Ahmed, Ghulam Nabi War, Yasin Attai and Muhammad Aaqib in their statements issued in Srinagar said that Professor Nazir Ahmed Shawl dedicated his life for the Kashmir cause. They said that he made strenuous efforts to highlight the Kashmir dispute and expose the Indian brutalities in occupied Jammu and Kashmir at the international level.
The APHC leaders said Professor Shawl will be remembered for his commitment to the Kashmiris’ just cause of right to self-determination. They prayed to Allah Almighty to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant patience to the bereaved family members to bear this loss.
The Islamabad-based journalists from Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir in a statement, paying glowing tributes to Prof. Nazir Ahmad Shawl, said that was a dynamic and active leader of Kashmir freedom movement and dedicated his entire life to the Kashmir cause.
They said fed up with Indian atrocities, he left for Pakistan with his family in 1991 and then became active on the vocal front of Kashmir freedom movement.
He has also served as the head of Kashmir Press International (KPI) and also participated as a commentator in a famous program of Pakistan Television Kashmir Magazine, they added.
He later moved to London where he was appointed as the Executive Director of Kashmir Center, London, they said.
Meanwhile, the APHC-AJK chapter Convener, Mahmood Ahmed Saghar, and other leaders including Muhammad Farooq Rehmani, Ghulam Muhammad Safi, Syed Yousuf Nasim, Sheikh Abdul Mateen, Shaikh Yaqoob, Imtiaz Wani, Altaf Ahmed Butt, Mushtaq Ahmed Butt and Abdul Majeed Mir in their statements issued in Islamabad also expressed deep grief over the death of Professor Nazir Ahmad Shawl.
They said that the death of Professor Shawl was a huge loss to the Kashmir freedom movement. They said that he was a strong voice for the Kashmir cause and spent his whole life fighting for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute and freedom of Jammu and Kashmir from Indian rule. They prayed for forgiveness of the deceased and patience for the family members.—KMS
