Srinagar, March 30 (KMS): In occupied Kashmir, the Acting Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), Abdul Hameed Butt has said that curbs, arrests and bans on political organizations cannot suppress the Kashmiris’ ongoing freedom movement.
Abdul Hameed Butt was addressing a prayers session in connection with the martyrdom anniversaries of prominent martyred Kashmiri freedom leaders, Ashfaq Majeed Wani, Shabbir Siddiqi, Dr Abdul Ahad Guru, Advocate Jaleel Andrabi and Dargah Hazratbal martyrs which was held at Mazar-e-Shuhada in Eidgah, Srinagar.
He said when curbs, arrests, ban, tyranny and oppression of Britain could not stop India from getting freedom, how could Indian oppression stop the freedom march of the people of Kashmir? He said JKLF is custodian of peoples struggle nourished by the sacred blood of great legend and shining star, Ashfaq Majeed Wani and great son of soil and scholar Shabbir Siddiqi. The party’s march towards freedom and self-determination cannot be halted by putting illegal and dictatorial bans on it, he added.
Recalling the struggle and sacrifices of Ashfaq Majeed Wani, he said Ashfaq was a born leader and the days and years of his life from 6th September 1966 to 30th march 1990 are glaring testimony of his greatness. He said those who think that people’s revolution in 1990 was only outcome of election rigging are wrong. In fact the struggle for freedom led by Ashfaq Majeed Wani was not the outcome of any election error only but it was an ongoing process accelerated by Shaheed Muhammad Maqbbol Butt‘s martyrdom in 1984. He said that it was Ashfaq Majeed Wani’s gallant leadership in 1988 that gave courage to hundreds and thousands of youth to stand up for the cause of freedom.
Paying tributes to martyr Shabbir Ahmad Siddiqi and other martyrs of Dargah Hazratbal, the JKLF Acting Chairman said Shaheed Siddiqi was a religious scholar and a man of wisdom who sacrificed his life for the freedom of Kashmir. Shabbir Siddiqi will also be remembered for his philanthropy and work in the field of education and Islam, he added. He said that Shaheed Shabbir Siddiqi changed the course of history and left his indelible mark on it.
Terming the ban on JKLF by Indian government as undemocratic and unethical, he said that even Indian rulers and their agencies know that all their accusations against JKLF are baseless and concocted. He said international community and the diplomats know that it was JKLF and its illegally detained Chairman, Muhammad Yasin Malik, who had courage to transform Kashmiri struggle into a non-violent struggle.
He said JKLF is and will keep striving in a peaceful manner for the resolution of Kashmir dispute which is an internationally recognized dispute that pertains to the future of millions of people.
Meanwhile, JKLF cadres in Islamabad (Pakistan) held a protest demonstration against the ban on the party and slapping draconian Public Safety Act (PSA) on party Chairman, Muhammad Yasin Malik, by India.
Condemning this undemocratic act of India, the JKLF cadres were in white unstitched dress to establish their resolve that the banning of JKLF may neither stop the Kashmiris from the path of freedom nor can India break their resolve of freedom by jailing Yasin Malik like dynamic leaders.
The protesters raised high-pitched pro-freedom and anti-India slogans and demanded lifting ban on JKLF and Jamaat-e-Islami, and release of all illegally detained political leaders including Yasin Malik.
The JKLF Vice Chairman, Sleem Haroon, president of Rawalpindi /Islamabad division Sardar Jamshed and SLF General Secretary, Engineer Shahjahan Arshed led the protest demonstration.
A large number of party leaders including Sardar Anwar Advocate, Saleem Butt, Sardar Hanif, Owais Shabbir and Qari Sami-ud-Din also participated in it.
The APHC-AJK leaders including conveners, Syed Abdullah Gilani, Syed Faiz Naqshbandi and other leaders, Muhammad Farooq Rehmani, Sheikh Abdul Mateen, Manzoor-ul-Haq Butt and many political leaders from Azad Jammu and Kashmir also spoke on the occasion.