In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, complete shutdown will be observed, tomorrow, to mark the martyrdom anniversary of martyred Kashmiri leader, Muhammad Afzal Guru.
Call for the strike has been given by the All Parties Hurriyat Conference and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front and supported by all other Hurriyat leaders and organizations. India had sent Muhammad Afzal Guru to the gallows in New Delhi’s Tihar Jail on 9th February in 2013 in a fake case related to the Indian parliament attack. Shutdown will also be observed on Saturday on the martyrdom anniversary of prominent Kashmiri leader Muhammad Maqbool Butt. He was hanged by India in the same jail on 11th February in 1984 for his role in Kashmir freedom movement. The bodies of Muhammad Maqbool Butt and Muhammad Afzal Guru remain buried in the premises of Tihar jail.
The All Parties Hurriyat Conference and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front in their statements issued in Srinagar paid rich tributes to Muhammad Maqbool Butt and Muhammad Afzal Guru and said the martyrdom of the two leaders infused a new spirit in the freedom movement of Kashmir.
Meanwhile, posters with the pictures of Muhammad Maqbool Butt and Muhammad Afzal Guru appeared in different areas of the territory asking people to observe complete shutdown on Thursday and Saturday.
People held a protest demonstration near Pratap Park in Srinagar today against the eviction drive in the territory. The protesters tried to march towards Lal Chowk but were stopped by the police. In New Delhi, activists of Peoples Democratic Party led by Mehbooba Mufti also took out an anti-eviction march near the Indian Parliament in the occupied territory. However, police prevented protesters from reaching the parliament.
The Chairman of World Forum for Peace & Justice, Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai, in a statement in Washington said that the ongoing eviction-cum-demolition drive launched by Modi regime in IIOJK is violation of basic human rights. He added that the global Kashmiri diaspora massively protests the attempts of confiscating over 203,264 acres of land for the development of Indian settlements.
On the other hand, Indian government has admitted to have imparted armed training to the terrorist gang of over 900 Indian army-backed Village Defence Guards in Rajouri district of Jammu region, last month. The figure was confirmed by the Indian Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, while responding to a written query in Lok Sahba, the lower house of the Parliament.—KMS
