Martyrdom Week in IOK Tweet 0 When historians will evaluate the movements for right to self- determination in different parts of the world, they will definitely reckon that Kashmiris’ freedom struggle has one of the most memorable traits among other such movements and that is the status of the personalities and the manner in which they rendered sacrifices. Kashmiris of different ages, from young to mature, from elderly to kids, from men to women, from villagers to urbanites, from newborns to toddlers, from journalists to lawyers and from activists to leaders, no age group, no segment, gender or class of the Kashmiri society has lagged behind on this front. They all have martyrs among their ranks and martyrdom could be declared as their proud credit. This year too, like previous years, the All Parties Hurriyet Conference commemorated the martyrs’ sacrifices in a weeklong series of different programmes arranged for the Martyrdom Week. The Week’s functions started on May 16 to commemorate the martyrdom anniversaries of prominent liberation leaders, Mirwaiz Moulvi Muhammad Farooq and Khawaja Abdul Ghani Lone as well as the martyrs of Hawal. Mirwaiz Moulvi Mohammad Farooq was martyred on May 21, 1990, by unknown assailants at his residence in Srinagar. Indian troops had fired indiscriminately on his funeral procession in Hawal area of Srinagar martyring seventy mourners. Similarly, Khawaja Abdul Ghani Lone was martyred on the same day in 2002 when he was returning after addressing a gathering at Eidgah in Srinagar on the martyrdom anniversary of Moulvi Muhammad Farooq. The occupation authorities on May 21, this year, put Hurriyet leaders under house arrest and imposed stringent restrictions in Srinagar to prevent people from conducting a march towards Eidgah announced by the All Parties Hurriyet Conference to pay homage to Moulvi Muhammad Farooq and Khawaja Abdul Ghani Lone. Complete shutdown was observed in occupied Kashmir in the memory of the martyred leaders and victims of Hawal massacre. All shops, business establishments and schools remained closed while transport was off the road. In Srinagar, the personnel of Indian police and Central Reserve Police Force were deployed in strength to prevent people from carrying out the march and holding anti-India demonstrations. All roads leading to the Eidgah were sealed by the puppet authorities. The APHC Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and other leaders including Maulana Abbas Ansari, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, Agha Syed Hassan Al- Moosvi Al-Safvi and Zafar Akbar Butt were placed under house arrest. Indian police arrested APHC leader, Mohammad Yousuf Naqash, from his residence and shifted him to Safa Kadal Police Station in Srinagar. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who was confined to his residence on May 18, was not allowed to participate in different functions held in connection with the Martyrdom Week. The police intercepted a rally led by the APHC leader, Yasmeen Raja, and Awami Action Committee leader, Fatima Bibi, at Nawakadal preventing it from proceeding towards the Eidgah. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq telephonically addressed a seminar organized by the APHC-AJK Chapter in Islamabad to commemorate the martyrdom anniversaries of Moulvi Muhammad Farooq and Khawaja Abdul Ghani Lone. The function was hosted by the AJK Prime Minister, Chaudhry Abdul Majeed, and those who spoke on the occasion included Mehmood Ahmad Saghar, Abdur Rashid Turabi, Syed Yousuf Naseem, Syed Faiz Naqshbandi, Sheikh Muhammad Yaqoob, Rafiq Ahmad Dar and AJK cabinet members. They stressed settlement of the Kashmir dispute through implementation of the relevant resolutions of the United Nations. Earlier, the Martyrdom Week commenced on May 16 with a large number of people attending the functions of the recitation of Holy Quran that were held at the headquarters of the All Parties Hurriyet Conference and the Jammu and Kashmir Awami Action Committee in Srinagar. On May 17, a mammoth rally was taken out from Jamia Masjid Srinagar to Hawal Chowk to mark the Martyrdom Week. The rally was led by the APHC Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. Addressing on the occasion, he reiterated the Kashmiris’ commitment to continue the liberation movement till the mission of martyrs was accomplished. On the same day, the Jammu and Kashmir Awami Action Committee organized a blood donation and free medical camp in the premises of Jamia Masjid as part of the Martyrdom Week programmes. During the blood donation camp, a large number of people including the APHC leaders donated blood. More than 50 pints of blood were collected on the occasion. On May 18, Anjuman-e-Nusrat-ul- Islam held a seminar ‘Role of religion in personality building’ at the auditorium of Islamia Higher School, Rajouri Kadal, Srinagar, in connection with the Martyrdom Week. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq presided over the seminar while Chief Editor of daily Greater Kashmir, Fayyaz Ahmed Kaloo, was the chief guest on the occasion. Many ulema, intellectuals and journalists participated in the seminar. On the same day, the occupation authorities resorted to force to prevent the Jammu and Kashmir Awami Action Committee from holding a seminar at Khanyar in the Old City. Indian police and troops besieged Shaheedi Park, the main venue of the seminar, and uprooted the tents erected for the function. The vehicles of the party were ceased while its workers and activists were terrorized and harassed. The posters and banners of the Awami Action Committee at several places in the city were removed and its Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, was put under house detention. On May 19, the occupation authorities again disallowed Mirwaiz Umar Farooq from presiding over a seminar held at the APHC headquarters in Srinagar by keeping him under continued house arrest. The seminar was then chaired by senior APHC leader, Professor Abdul Ghani Butt, and was attended among others by Agha Syed Hassan Al- Moosvi Al-Safvi, Maulana Abbas Ansari, Mukhtar Ahmad Waza, Yasmeen Raja, Zafar Akbar Butt, Syed Bashir Andrabi, Musaddiq Aadil, Hakeem Abdur Rasheed, Ghulam Nabi Zaki and Ghulam Muhammad Nagoo besides a large number of intellectuals, notables and members of civil society. In his telephonic address to the seminar, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq termed the so-called legislators in occupied Kashmir as puppets saying that the real power in the territory was wielded not by political functionaries, but by the Indian army and police. He said that the puppet administration could not even take a small decision of releasing the Hurriyet leaders from house arrest unless Indian agencies gave clearance. He said that India and its puppet authorities were afraid of liberation leaders as they knew that despite adopting various suppressive measures to muzzle the voice of people by them, Kashmiris had shown steadfastness towards their cause. The Mirwaiz maintained that permanent peace in South Asia was not possible until the Kashmir dispute was resolved in accordance with the Kashmiris’ aspirations. He said that it was unfortunate that the Government of India and its puppets were resorting to oppressive tactics to curb the voice of dissent in the occupied territory. “This has been their policy right from 1947. They have left no stone unturned to curb the voice of Kashmiris. But the fact remains that the liberation movement is heading towards its final destination,” he stated. “The movement is in the hearts and minds of people. Indian government can kill the people of Kashmir as it has been doing, but it can’t kill their ideologies,” he added. Mirwaiz said, if the occupation authorities think that they can change the discourse of Kashmir struggle by resorting to house arrest of leaders, curbing seminars and other programs, they are living in a fool’s paradise. Senior APHC leader, Professor Abdul Ghani Butt, in his address said that it was a reality that Jammu and Kashmir was a dispute and will continue to be so if remained unresolved for even one thousand years. He said that it was Indian leadership that took this dispute to the United Nations. He said that the Kashmiris would never forget the tyrant and the oppressor. A resolution passed on the occasion, said that the Hurriyet Conference believed in meaningful dialogue process and settlement of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the Kashmiris’ aspirations was imperative for ensuring permanent peace in the region and cordial relations between Pakistan and India. Syed Ali Gilani, who was also under house arrest, in a statement paying homage to Mirwaiz Moulvi Muhammad Farooq, Khawaja Abdul Ghani Lone and other martyrs said that the best tribute to them was to take their mission to its logical end. The Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, Muhammad Yasin Malik, paying homage to the martyred leaders said that Kashmir would always remain indebted to Moulvi Muhammad Farooq and Khawaja Abdul Ghani Lone who sacrificed their lives for the cause of freedom. “Our freedom struggle is adorned with the blood of martyrs and therefore no power can defeat it,” he added. Remembering the struggle and sacrifices of Mirwaiz Moulvi Muhammad Farooq, the JKLF Chairman said, “Shaheed Mirwaiz belonged to a family that has always inspired many Kashmiris. His family led the Kashmiris in many fields including politics, education and religion. He himself faced the hardships of jails, torture and oppression in the way of freedom.” Calling Abdul Ghani Lone a selfless leader, Yasin Malik said, “He always fought for the cause of freedom and tolerated all hardships. He rejected power and position and joined the freedom struggle and never looked back.” On May 20, a big rally was organized by the Jammu and Kashmir Awami Action Committee at Rajouri Kadal in Srinagar. A resolution passed on the occasion reaffirmed the commitment of Kashmiri people to continue the martyrs’ mission till its logical conclusion. It stressed the need for associating the Kashmiris with the Pak-India dialogue process to resolve the Kashmir dispute. It reiterated the demand for return of the mortal remains of Kashmiri martyrs, Muhammad Maqbool Butt and Muhammad Afzal Guru, from Delhi’s Tihar jail to Kashmir. The resolution demanded complete withdrawal of Indian troops from occupied Kashmir, repeal of draconian laws including Armed Forces Special Powers Act and an end to human rights violations in the territory. It appealed to the United Nations, OIC, Amnesty International and other human rights organizations to take notice of human rights abuses, restrictions on political activities of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and other Hurriyet leaders and miserable plight of illegally detained Kashmiris languishing in different jails of India and occupied Kashmir. The resolution also congratulated the Chief of Pakistan Muslim League (N), Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, for success of his party in the general elections in Pakistan and expressed the hope that he would start a process for settlement of the dispute in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. On May 22, the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Conference held a big public gathering at Haray-Karalpura in Kupwara to pay tributes to Moulvi Muhammad Farooq and Khawaja Abdul Ghani Lone. Addressing on the occasion, senior APHC leaders, Professor Abdul Ghani Butt and Bilal Ghani Lone, said that India could not enslave the people of Jammu and Kashmir through use of brute force. They said that the people of Kashmir would continue the liberation struggle till they achieved complete freedom from the Indian bondage. People on the occasion raised high-pitched slogans in favour of freedom. APHC leaders, Ghulam Nabi Zaki and Hakeem Abdur Rasheed, were among those who addressed the gathering. The authorities did not allow Mirwaiz Umar Farooq to attend the function and continued to place him under house arrest. The Indian police arrested APHC leader, Zafar Akbar Butt, along with a half dozen activists, in Pattan preventing him from going to address the gathering. The police also arrested scores of activists of Peoples Conference to stop them from attending the function. In Muzaffarabad, the APHC-AJK Chapter leaders including Syed Yousuf Naseem, Dr Abdul Aala, Sheikh Muhammad Yaqoob, Abdul Hameed Lone, former AJK Minister, Raja Hanif and Shaikh Aqeel-ur- Rehman addressing a seminar eulogised the services of Moulvi Muhammad Farooq and Khawaja Abdul Ghani Lone for the Kashmir cause. Remembering the martyrs is not an end in itself; it inflicts a duty on the Kashmiris to see that sacrifices mean a step closer to conflict resolution, which will be the real tribute to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives to achieve this goal. It is unfortunate that after killing Kashmiris, India is not allowing the people of occupied Kashmir to mourn their death and imposes restrictions in the territory to prevent the masses from paying tributes to the martyrs. At a time when a new government is going to take reigns in Pakistan, the general elections in India are also not far away, and leaders from both sides of the border have already expressed sentiments of treading the path of peace and try to improve their bilateral ties, steps should be taken for settlement of all contentious issues between the two sides including the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir. It is a fact that without settling the Kashmir dispute between the two nuclear neighbors dream of peace in the region could not be achieved. Craving for peace is a universal phenomenon and everybody has this right and Kashmiris can’t be excluded from this list. New Delhi needs to understand that its repressive measures have failed to suppress the Kashmiris’ liberation sentiment during the past over sixty- five years and they are determined to take the ongoing liberation movement to its logical conclusion. The sooner it accepts this reality, the better it will be for the millions of people living in the region.
Posted on: Sat, 07 Sep 2013 03:00:49 +0000
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