People across Azad Jammu & Kashmir on Friday observed the 38th martyrdom anniversary of eminent leader of Kashmir Freedom Movement Maqbool Butt with the renewal of the pledge to continue his mission till the achievement of Kashmiris legitimate right to self-determination according to the UN resolution.
Processions were taken out and rallies held in all small and major towns of AJK to pay glorious tribute to Shaheed Maqbool Butt who was put to gallows by India this day in New Delhi’s Tihar Jail in 1984 for his “offence” of demanding early liberation of mother land from Indian yoke and the birth right to self-determination for the people of Jammu Kashmir state under the spirit of the international norms and commitments to this direction.
The martyrdom anniversary of the great departed here of the Kashmir freedom struggle was also marked as ‘Youm e Azzam e Nau’ to mark full respect and honour the martyrs of Jammu & Kashmir State for laying down the supreme sacrifices of their lives for liberation of the motherland from long Indian clutches.
A number of organisations arranged special functions to observe the anniversary of one of the founding leaders of the Kashmir freedom struggle.
Joint demonstrations were staged coupled with rallies taken out by various social, political and student organisations including Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Conference, Jammu Kashmir Plebiscite Front, Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, Jammu Kashmir National Students Federation, J & K Students Liberation Front and other groups, in various AJK cities including Mirpur to pay glorious tributes to the eminent hero of the Kashmir freedom struggle.
The processionists marched through major city streets chanting anti-India and pro-freedom slogans besides the slogans in commemoration of the supreme sacrifices of lives by Maqbool Butt, Dr Afzal Guru and other Kashmiri martyrs and other heroes of the Kashmir freedom struggle.
In Mirpur, the main procession converged into a mammoth rally. Addressing the rally speakers including former president Jammu Kashmir Plebiscite Front Azeem Dutt Advocate, JKLF leaders – Saad Insari Advocate and Khawaja Pervez Iqbal and others paid rich tributes to Maqbool Butt for giving supreme sacrifice of his life for the cause of liberation of Jammu & Kashmir from the Indian yoke. Speakers reiterated the Kashmiris resolve to continue their mission for bringing the Kashmir freedom struggle to its logical end.
The Kashmiri leaders called upon the international community to exert pressure on India to immediately handover the mortal remains of Maqbool Butt Shaheed to his family for its burial with religious respect and honour.
Speakers said that Maqbool Butt’s martyrdom day of February 11, 1984 is the black day in the history of Kashmir Freedom movement as India deprived Kashmiris of a great hero of their just and principled freedom struggle. They said that sacrifice of Maqbool Butt infused a new spirit and resolve among Kashmiris to accelerate their struggle for the achievement of their fundamental right to self-determination constantly being denied by India since last 75 years.
They said “best way to pay rich tributes to late Maqbool Butt is to continue his mission of the freedom struggle till the achievement of the goal”.
“Paying rich tributes to young Kashmir freedom struggle leader shaheed Dr. Muhammad Afzal Guru, who was also hanged to death in New Delhi’s Tihar jail 08 years ago in 2013, the speakers said that innocent Guru was wrongly implicated in the case as he was already behind the bars in the Indian prison on the day of alleged attack on the Indian parliament’s building in New Delhi in 2001”.
They called upon the International court of justice to institute an inquiry commission to probe into judicial murder of Afzal Guru. They urged upon UN as well as International Human Rights Organizations, especially the Amnesty International to immediately move against the continual genocide of the innocent Kashmiris in Indian-held Kashmir.
Speakers regretted that India has constantly been acting upon her traditional policy of deviation and stubbornness with the ulterior motives to continue depriving Kashmiris of their birth right to self-determination. They demanded inclusion of Jammu Kashmir people, major party to the Kashmir dispute, in the dialogue between India and Pakistan for early peaceful resolution of Kashmir issue according to their (Kashmiris) aspirations.
They reminded the UN of its due responsibility to play its due role for early peaceful settlement of the Kashmir issue to save the region from the threat of any nuclear conflict between Pakistan and India.
Earlier a large number of activists of JKNLF, JKLF, Plebiscite Front, NSF and other social and political organizations reportedly out a torch bearing procession in the city Thursday night to eulogize the contribution of the martyred Kashmiri leader to the freedom struggle.
The participants of the rally put on the candles of freedom in memory of the Kashmiri martyrs coupled with the renewal of the pledge to continue the mission of late Maqbool Butt, Afzal Guru and other Kashmiri martyrs to bring the Kashmir freedom struggle to its logical end.
