Kashmiris’ just demand cannot be crushed through military siege: APHC
Reiterates call to observe August 5 as Black Day
Srinagar: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has said that seven years of India’s constant military siege, heinous crimes and devilish conspiracies in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir have failed to stifle the Kashmiris’ legitimate struggle for the right to self-determination through a plebiscite.
According to Kashmir Media Service, APHC spokesman Advocate Abdul Rashid Minhas in a statement issued in Srinagar said the unprecedented steadfastness, firmness and bravery of Kashmiris had time and again proved that their spirit and passion for freedom was invincible.
Reiterating the call for a Black Day and complete strike in the territory and protest rallies across the world on August 5, the statement said it was time to give India and the international community a clear message that Kashmiris prefer death over slavery and would never compromise on their universally acknowledged right to self-determination.Several other parties have also reiterated the appeal to the people of Kashmir to observe August 5 as Black Day to condemn India’s unconstitutional actions.
Terming unity the key to success, the APHC urged the people to forge greater unity to thwart India’s nefarious designs and colonial policies. The spokesman said 5 August is one of the darkest days in the history of Kashmir and it has had a catastrophic impact on the lives of Kashmiris.
“Since the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35-A, India has turned Kashmir into a vast jail and concentration camp for its inhabitants,” he lamented.The spokesman said that in order to change the demography of occupied Kashmir and dilute the Muslim majority, lakhs of non-state Hindus, including in the Jammu region, have been granted domiciles and are being settled in the internationally recognized disputed territory. “With the intention of dispossessing Kashmiris, amendments have been made in land laws and thousands of Indians have been granted land and settled in Kashmir,” he deplored.
The APHC, while paying tributes to the martyrs of Sialan, Poonch, lamented that the families of the martyrs were still waiting for justice even after a period of 25 years. The personnel of the Rashtriya Rifles of the Indian Army martyred 19 family members of Shaheed Imtiaz Ahmed Sheikh, known as Major Gul, in the Sialan area of Sarnakot in Poonch district on the night of August 3-4, 1998. The martyrs included men, women and children from the families of Lassa Sheikh, Ahmed Din Sheikh and Hasan Muhammad.
