In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, complete shutdown will be observed on 9th and 11th of this month to mark the martyrdom anniversaries of prominent Kashmiri leaders, Muhammad Afzal Guru, and Muhammad Maqbool Butt.
Call for the strike has been given by the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front and supported by all other Hurriyat leaders and organizations.
India had hanged Muhammad Afzal Guru in New Delhi’s Tihar Jail on 9th February in 2013 and Muhammad Maqbool Butt in the same jail on 11th February, 1984, for their role in Kashmir freedom movement. Their bodies remain buried in the premises of the jail.
The APHC spokesman in a statement issued in Srinagar while paying rich tributes to Shaheed Maqbool Muhammad Butt and Shaheed Muhammad Afzal Guru said both the martyrs infused a new spirit in the freedom movement of Kashmir. He said now the young generation of occupied Kashmir was fully engaged with vigour and vitality to carry forward the noble mission of freedom.
The spokesman urged the UN to take cognizance of the Indian state terrorism in occupied Jammu and Kashmir. He said in view of the most volatile situation prevailing in the occupied territory it has become inevitable to resolve the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions.
Meanwhile, JKLF in a statement paid homage to Muhammad Maqbool Butt and Muhammad Afzal Guru. It appealed to the people of IIOJK, Azad Jammu Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan and the Kashmiris world over to register their protest against India on the martyrdom anniversaries of the two leaders. It also called upon the members of Kashmiri diaspora to raise their voice for the immediate release of all the illegally detained Kashmiris including JKLF Chairman, Muhammad Yasin Malik, languishing in different jails of IIOJK and India.
On the other hand, more posters appeared in different areas, saying the people of the territory will observe complete shutdown on February 9 and 11, the martyrdom anniversaries of Afzal Guru and Maqbool Butt. The posters, displayed by Sad-e-Mazloom Jammu and Kashmir in different parts of the territory, said the Kashmiri will accom-plish the mission of Afzal Guru, Maqbool Butt and other martyrs at all costs.—KMS
