SRINAGAR (Kashmir English): In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Vice Chairman, Gulam Ahmed Gulzar, paid glowing tributes to the martyrs of July 13, 1931, and called for complete shutdown across the territory, today, to honour their legacy.
According to Kashmir Media Service, in a statement in Srinagar, Gulzar urged people to march towards the Martyrs’ Graveyard at Naqashband Sahib in Srinagar, where the 22 heroes of July 13 are buried.
“These brave sons of the soil sacrificed their lives and laid the foundation of the present ongoing freedom struggle,” he said.
Appeal to Kashmiris
He also appealed to Kashmiris living in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan, and elsewhere to organize rallies and seminars to commemorate the martyrs and highlight their sacrifices on the global stage.
Calling July 13 as the most important and historic day in modern Kashmir history, Gulzar said, “The 22 martyrs and lacs of others who sacrificed their lives while fighting tyranny, oppression, and suppression are the real heroes of the Kashmiri people.”
He said, “July 13 is the day when every Kashmiri renews its pledge that he will follow the martyrs’ footsteps and will never bow down before oppression and colonization”.
He said, “Ours is a sacred struggle nourished by the pure blood of martyrs, and no worldly power on earth can defeat this people’s movement.
The ongoing struggle is the continuation of that movement which was started by the great martyrs of 13 July 1931 and the best way to pay tribute to the martyrs is to carry on their mission to its logical end”.
Lamenting the intensifying repression under the Hindutva-driven regime, he said, “Today, when Hindutva elements are trampling everything in Kashmir and are indulging in the annihilation of Kashmiris, it is need of the hour to wake up and fight with the same passion and resilience as Kashmiris did in 1931”.
Gulzar said, “Following the footsteps of the 13 July 1931 martyrs, Kashmiris are writing the new history of bravery, courage, and resistance despite the presence of over one million trigger-happy troops using every brutal method to crush Kashmiris”.
He added that the passion for freedom, which is deeply rooted in generations, is invincible and indomitable.
He vowed to carry the movement till the goal of freedom is achieved and urged the international community to support Kashmiris’ just cause and force India to implement UN resolutions on Kashmir.
Meanwhile, the APHC has strongly condemned the Indian occupation authorities for summoning Hurriyat activists to police stations and subjecting them to harassment and intimidation over their call for a shutdown on July 13.
The APHC said such coercive tactics reflect the growing frustration of the Indian regime, which continues to suppress the Kashmiri people for raising their voices against brutalities and for demanding their UN-mandated right to self-determination.
