Hurriyat leaders, activists reject India’s I-Day celebrations, protest held in Islamabad
Kashmiris’ struggle continues despite Indian repression: Speakers
Islamabad: An anti-India protest was held outside the Islamabad Press Club today to mark India’s Independence Day as a Black Day. The protest was organized by the All Parties Hurriyat Conference Azad Jammu and Kashmir (APHC-AJK) chapter and the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Commission and was led by former APHC-AJK Convener Muhammad Farooq Rehmani.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the protesters carried black flags and chanted slogans including, “We will win freedom by snatching it; freedom is our right.” A large number of Hurriyat leaders, representatives of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Commission, political and social figures, and Kashmiri activists participated in the protest.
Addressing the protesters, Muhammad Farooq Rehmani said Kashmiris were observing India’s Independence Day as a Black Day today, with Kashmiris around the world were also protesting against India’s occupation of Jammu and Kashmir. He said the observance clearly demonstrated that the Kashmiri people rejected India’s control over their homeland.
He said India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, had promised the Kashmiri people that they would be given an opportunity to decide their future, but India had reneged on its promises and international commitments and continued to deny Kashmiris their fundamental right to self-determination.
Mehmood Ahmed Sagar, Chaudhry Shaheen Iqbal, Dawood Yousafzai, Altaf Ahmad Butt, Imtiaz Wani, Mushtaq Ahmad Butt, Zahid Safi, Manzoor Ahmad Shah, Adil Turabi, Rashid Shah, Khan Afsar Khan, Najeebullah Ghafour, Ghulam Nabi Butt, Nusrat Bhatti and others said India had established an illegitimate occupation over Jammu and Kashmir and therefore had no right to hold Independence Day celebrations in the territory. They said Kashmiris had been struggling for their inalienable right to self-determination for the past 79 years, during which millions had sacrificed their lives. They said Indian repression, arrests, torture and other brutal tactics had failed to suppress the Kashmiri people’s spirit of freedom.
The speakers reaffirmed that the right to self-determination was a fundamental right of the Kashmiri people and that their struggle for this right would continue. They called upon the United Nations and the international community to fulfil their responsibilities towards resolving the Kashmir dispute.
The protest concluded with a special prayer for the early liberation of Jammu and Kashmir from Indian occupation and for the elevation of the ranks of the martyrs.
