APHC urges people to mark Aug 5 as ‘Youm-e-Istehsal’ with complete strike in IIOJK
Srinagar: All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has called on the people of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) to observe a complete strike across the territory on August 5 (Tuesday) and mark the day as ‘Youm-e-Istehsal-e-Kashmir’ in protest against the BJP-led Hindutva Indian government’s illegal actions of August 5, 2019.
According to Kashmir Media Service, APHC Vice Chairman, Gulam Ahmed Gulzar, in a statement in Srinagar, also appealed to Kashmiris living on both sides of the Line of Control and across the world to organize protests, rallies and arrange other programmes to expose unabated Hindutva terrorism in Kashmir and to draw international attention to the territory’s worsening human rights situation.
Calling August 5 as one of the most tragic, painful and catastrophic days in the modern history of Kashmir, Gulzar said that the Modi government, in flagrant violation of international law and UN resolutions, scrapped special status of IIOJK and deprived Kashmiris of all political, social, cultural, economic, religious and other basic rights. He emphasized that the move was a calculated step to erase Kashmir’s unique identity and impose Hindutva ideology on the Muslim-majority population. “The BJP-RSS regime is pursuing a settler-colonial project in Kashmir, with the aim of turning the region into a Hindu-majority colony,” Gulzar said. “India’s intelligence agencies, its anti-Muslim judiciary, and security apparatus are jointly working to conquer and assimilate Kashmir against the will of its people.”
He described Kashmir as a gigantic open-air prison and the world’s largest torture cell, with its every inch dotted with trigger-happy troops, adding, “More than one million troops are marauding and brutalizing Kashmiris with atrocious vengeance.” Since August 05, 2019, occupation forces have butchered over one thousand Kashmiris, while thousands are rotting in Indian jails under concocted charges. Indian dreaded agencies like NIA, SIA and SIU have wreaked havoc and confiscated properties of hundreds of pro-freedom leaders, activists and even ordinary citizens, in a crackdown that mirrors Israel’s colonial policy in Palestine, he said.
Gulzar also condemned the settlement of non-local Hindus, the issuance of domiciles to RSS supporters, and their appointment to key positions as part of a systematic effort to change the demography of Kashmir, enslave and colonize local Kashmiris, and wipe out their identity.
Despite this brutal repression, Gulzar asserted that India has failed to crush the Kashmiri people’s resolve for freedom. “India’s military occupation and settler policies have only solidified the Kashmiris’ belief that India is their worst enemy and their lives, honor, future, religious identity, culture and everything is at stake under Indian subjugation”, he said. Stating that India’s defeat in Kashmir is now written on the wall, he urged New Delhi to shun its obduracy and recognize the Kashmiris’ inalienable right to self-determination.
Gulam Ahmed Gulzar also thanked Pakistan for its consistent support to the Kashmir cause and expressed hope that Islamabad will expedite its diplomatic efforts to internationalize the issue further. He urged the international community to hold India accountable and compel it to stop human rights violations and implement UN resolutions on Kashmir.
