By Zubair Hussain
The government and people of Pakistan are solemnly observing the 91st Youm-e-Shuhada-e-Kashmir (Kashmir Martyrs’ Day) and paying homage to the twenty-two Kashmiri martyrs who rendered the ultimate sacrifice while braving the indiscriminate force unleashed on them in 1931 by the Dogra forces. Their extraordinary courage and sacrifice kindled a valiant struggle for the Kashmiris’ right to self-determination that continues to-date.
On this day, Kashmiri Muslims protesting outside the Srinagar Central Jail premises, where Abdul Qadeer was being held and tried on charges of sedition, were fired upon by the state forces after refusing to disperse and entering the prison premises. The crowds buried the bodies of those killed by the state forces in the graveyard attached to the Shrine of Khwaja Bahawuddin Naqshbandi (Ziyarat Naqshband Sahab) in Srinagar, which has since come to be known as Mazar-e-Shuhada or the Martyrs’ Graveyard.
Today, we join our Kashmiri brethren on this sombre day on either side of the Line of Control (LoC) in commemorating the contribution of the Martyrs of 1931.
Regretfully, Kashmiris are still struggling against illegal occupation by India. Even today, the 900,000-strong Indian occupation forces continue to hold hostage the Kashmiri people under the worst form of military siege to perpetuate their wrongful occupation of Jammu and Kashmir.
India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019 were yet another attempt to strip the Kashmiri people of their distinct identity and turn them into a minority in their land.
More than 640 Kashmiris have been martyred in extra-judicial killings since then, and 120 have been martyred in cold blood this year alone.
In 2020, hurting the sentiments of the Kashmiris, India scrapped the regional public holiday on Kashmir Martyrs’ Day, which had been observed every year since 1948. India also discontinued the traditional guard of honour ceremony at the Martyrs’ Graveyard.
Pakistan urges India to immediately halt its state-terrorism in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK), cease all human rights violations, release all political prisoners, lift the in-human military siege, stop its attempts to change the demographic structure of the occupied territory, and let the Kashmiri people exercise their legitimate right to self-determination.
We call upon the international community, international human rights organizations, and particularly the United Nations and its human rights mechanism to take cognizance of the dire human rights and humanitarian situation in the IIOJK and ensure peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute under the relevant UNSC resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people.