Srinagar, February 08 (KNO) : Chairman of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), Muhammad Yasin Malik on Friday paid tribute to Muhammad Maqbool Bhat and Muhammad Afzal Guru on their anniversaries and said that the programme of Joint Resistance Leadership on the anniversaries of duo will be followed in letter and spirit.
Malik as per a statement issued to KNO said, “Muhammad Maqbool Butt is the corner stone of resistance against illegal occupation and symbol of freedom and liberty. Butt’s struggle and sacrifices represent every oppressed and subjugated human. Muhammad Afzal Guru also treaded his path and sacrificed his life for the righteous cause.” Paying tributes to Maqbool Butt, terming him as an ‘ideologue, a warrior, a leader and an intellectual who led Kashmiris on all fronts, be it diplomatic front, armed, political or intellectual front’.
He started as a loner and strived hard for the liberation of his nation from occupation; perused and followed his dream with action and sacrificed his life with pride and passion at gallows. “The struggle and martyrdom of Mohammad Maqbool Butt is a glorious chapter of our history that will always guide us through the tough journey of our freedom struggle and us as a nation need to follow his footsteps and remain steadfast in our resistance against tyranny and oppression,” he said.
Malik said that on 11th February 1984, rulers decided to hang this leader and thus choke a Kashmiri voice for freedom on gallows in Tihar Jail Delhi but time has proved that India failed to achieve this goal as thousands of new Maqbool’s originated from his sacred blood and came out from every Kashmiri village and town to challenge ‘Indian hegemony and illegal occupation’.
Paying tributes to Muhammad Afzal Guru, who kissed gallows in same Tihar Jail on 13th February 2013, Malik said that hanged to satisfy collective conscience of Indians, this Kashmiri was denied a fair trial like Maqbool Butt and buried inside the same jail and till date Kashmiris living across the artificial dividing line and in the whole world are demanding the return back of their mortal remains.
Announcing various programs to be held on Maqbool Day this year, Malik said that various protest programs will be held across the globe on the occasion of Mohammad Maqbool Butt’s 35th anniversary and Kashmiris living throughout the world will observe this day as a national day.
“In Jammu Kashmir programs announced by the Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) will be followed in letter and spirit as protest marches, sit-in and submitting memorandums seeking the return back of Mortal remains of the great leader back to his motherland will be held across the major cities of the world on the occasion,” he said.
He said JKLF leaders and activists will hold protests in Islamabad Pakistan, Lahore, Karachi and other cities of Pakistan while as programs will also be held across Europe, UK, USA, Canada, Germany, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and other parts of Middle East.
Rallies, protests, seminars and prayers meetings will be held at every district headquarters of Azad Jammu Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan including Rawalpindi / Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore and Quetta divisions in Pakistan. Besides a protest on 11th February outside Indian Embassy in London at 12 Noon local time, UK Zone has also announced week long many programs in their respective branches. European Union Zone has also announced a protest on 11th February in front of Indian Embassy in Brussels, Belgium at 2 pm their local time, the statement added.
Programs will be held in the prominent countries of European Union like France, Finland, Spain, Germany, Italy etc. Middle East (Gulf) Zone will also hold similar programs from 10th February onwards in Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar branches, it added.
“JKLF units in Saudi Arabian cities like Riyadh, Jeddah, Damam, and in United Arab Emirate (UAE) cities like Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi and Doha unit in Qatar will also hold similar programs on the occasion. Besides demanding the handing over of the mortal remains of Shaheed Father of Kashmiri Nation Muhammad Maqbool Butt, His Philosophy, ideology, struggle and sacrifices will be highlighted during these programs. Besides this, the struggle and sacrifices rendered by seven Chakoti Azad Kashmir martyr’s of 1992 will also be recalled during these programs,” he said.
Malik said that “as a living nation we owe it to the future generations of Kashmir to highlight and spread the vision of Maqbool Bhat for which he and millions of other Kashmiris laid down their lives.” He said that “as heirs of sacred blood, Kashmiri nation needs to focus on its goal and always remain steadfast and wedded to the mission of these great martyrs.”(KNO)