Srinagar
Hurriyat leaders have said that India has no right to celebrate its Republic Day in occupied Kashmir as its forces on daily basis are killing Kashmiris and destroying residential houses.
Leader of Jammu and Kashmir Salvation Movement, Altaf Ahmad Butt in a statement in Islamabad appealed to the Kashmiris people to observe Indian Republic Day as Black Day and boycott all Indian official celebrations.
He said, India claims to be a large democracy but virtually stands exposed in occupied Kashmir and as it is trampling all fundamental rights of the people. He also condemned the Indian troops’ brutal cordon and search operations.
Vice Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Mass Movement, Abdul Majeed Mir in a statement in Islamabad said that observing Indian Republic Day as Black Day by Kashmiris was a clear message to India and the world that India had occupied the territory through military might and wanted freedom from it.
Vice Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Employees Movement, Imtiaz Wani in his statement in Islamabad denounced India for its continued lockdown in occupied Kashmir. He said on one side India is celebrating its Republic Day every year, but on the other, it has deprived the people of Kashmir of their birthright to self-determination. He said that the United Nations and the international community had granted Kashmiris their inalienable right but India yet to fulfill it.
Deputy Chairman of Tehreek-e-Istaqlal Jammu and Kashmir, Mushtaq Ahmad Butt in a statement in Islamabad said that India had usurped all the democratic rights of the people of Kashmir and morally it had no right to celebrate its Republic Day on the soil Kashmir. Observing Black Day would give a message to India that Kashmiris had rejected its Republic Day and wanted to get freedom from its bondages, he added.
In Kotli a protest rally, led by District Administration, Deputy Commissioner of Kotli and Convener of the Pir Panjal Peace Foundation, Mahmood Qureshi Advocate, was taken out on the occasion of Indian Republic Day.
The speakers on the occasion said that they would continue to observe the Indian Republic Day as Black Day till securing freedom from India. They said that the real face of India had been exposed to the world as it had committing brutalities on its minorities in India and on the people of occupied Kashmir.
Habibur Rahman Afaqi of Jamat-e-Islami, Malak Yaqoob, President of traders association, Master Yaqoob, Sardar Gulzar and activists of various political and social organisations and members of civil society participated in the protest rally.—KMS
