Islamabad: (Parliament Times) Lauding the sacrifices and peerless contribution of resistance leadership in Indian held Kashmir the President of Azad Kashmir Sardar Masood Ahmed Khan has said that Hurriyat leaders Syed Ali Gillani, Mir Waiz Umar Farooq, Yasin Malik, Shabir Ahmed Shah, Aasia Andrabi, Mussarat Alam and their companions are the heroes of the Kashmiri freedom movement.
The President expressed these views while talking to a delegation of Hurriyat representatives including Syed Faiz Hussain Naqshbandi, Mehmood Ahmed Saghar and Abdul Hameed Lone who called on him here on Sunday.
The delegation apprised the President of the ongoing crisis in IOK including the detention of Hurriyat leaders on trumped up charges and the killings of innocent Kashmiris.
The President said, “The Hurriyat leaders have been detained without any charges and been consistently threatened by the Indian occupation forces into giving up their just and peaceful freedom movement against the oppressors”. The President also said that he is in contact with Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs updating them on the situation in IOK and the cruelty faced by the people of IOK. “By removing Articles 35-A and 370 from the constitution, the Indian Government is conspiring towards a demographic change in Kashmir; thereby making the lives of the common Kashmiri miserable”, said the President.
The delegation presenting their proposal requested the President to write to the UN Secretary General, Human Rights Commission, Amnesty International and influential leaders of various countries to take note of the malicious and atrocious human rights violations taking place in IOK against the people and leadership of the APHC.
Sardar Masood Khan assured the delegation that every diplomatic communication channel will be utilized for this purpose. He also said that the Kashmiri Diaspora must also be engaged in highlighting the Kashmir issue. Similarly, the Indian civil society must be approached in order to positively pressurize the Indian government into giving up its cruel rampage in IOK.
The President was informed that Shabir Ahmed Shah has been in and out of Indian jails for the past 30 years and he has even rejected a passport in order to renounce the legitimacy of the Indian government’s control of IOK.
The President while addressing the delegation said, “Among all the misperceptions and disinformation propagated by India it’s a commendable feat that we all have kept the issue of Kashmir alive even after 70 years. We will continue our efforts and we will attain our freedom” The delegation also proposed that a “Kashmir Desk” be created in all embassies of Pakistan in order to help raise the issue and create awareness among the international community.
The President welcomed the delegates’ suggestion and said that AJK and Pakistan Government will continue to politically, diplomatically and morally support the Kashmir issue till the end.
