Kashmiris at home and abroad observing Afzal Guru’s martyrdom anniversary
#MartyrAfzalGuru
Srinagar: Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control and worldwide are observing the 12th martyrdom anniversary of Muhammad Afzal Guru today, with a renewed pledge to continue the ongoing struggle till freedom from Indian occupation.
The Kashmir Media Service claims that on February 9, 2013, Muhammad Afzal Guru was hanged at Tihar Jail in New Delhi. The judge at the time defended the execution by claiming that it was done to appease the collective sentiments of the Indians. Legal experts and rights activists had also termed it a judicial murder.
His execution, carried out in secrecy and without informing his family, remains a glaring stain on India’s so-called democracy. Guru’s mortal remains were never returned to his family, adding to the deep sense of injustice felt by the people of occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Legal experts and political analysts stressed that Afzal Guru, like other Kashmiri martyrs, has become a symbol of defiance against oppression. His sacrifice, they emphasize, continues to fuel the freedom movement in the occupied territory.
The All Parties Hurriyat Conference in a statement issued in Srinagar said that martyrs like Afzal Guru have reinvigorated the Kashmiri people’s freedom struggle, inspiring new generations to resist India’s illegal occupation. The APHC reaffirmed that India’s brutal actions, including the systematic killing of Kashmiri youth, will never suppress the Kashmiris’ aspiration for the UN-acknowledged self-determination.
Meanwhile, Indian troops have intensified their crackdown across the occupied territory, detaining youth and conducting house raids to prevent pro-freedom activities.
However, Kashmiri people remain steadfast in their resolve, vowing to honor the sacrifices of their martyrs and carry forward the movement for liberation.
The APHC and other pro-freedom leaders have urged the international community to hold India accountable for its human rights violations in occupied Jammu and Kashmir and to push for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute in line with the United Nations resolutions.
Chairperson of Jammu and Kashmir Mass Movement, Farida Behanji, in a statement paid rich tributes to Shaheed Muhammad Maqbool Butt and Shaheed Muhammad Afzal Guru. She emphasized that the executions of the two prominent Kashmiri leaders were acts of judicial murder and called upon the international community to pressure India into returning the mortal remains of the martyrs to the Kashmiri people for proper burial.
APHC-AJK leader Manzoor Ahmad Dar in a statement in Islamabad reaffirmed the resolve to continue the martyrs’ mission.
