The top pro-freedom leadership has called for complete shutdown on Thursday to send a message that the people of Kashmir will never accept separate townships for Kashmiri Pandits, colonies for retired Indian soldiers, harassment of Jammu Muslims and India’s new Industrial Policy in Kashmir.
According to KMS, call for the strike was given after an extraordinary meeting of the All Parties Hurriyet Conference Chairman, Syed Ali Gilani, and Hurriyet leaders, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik at Syed Ali Gilani’s Hyderpora residence in Srinagar.
The leaders also called for peaceful protests after Friday prayers on May 27. More protest programmes will follow thereafter, a joint statement issued after the meeting said.
The leaders discussed a joint strategy to counter Indian agenda aimed at changing the demography of Jammu and Kashmir and harming its Muslim-majority character, the statement said. They also appealed to the people to resist these ploys with unity and steadfastness, it said.
“These conspiracies have created a do-or-die situation for the Kashmiris. The shutdown and protest should send a clear message that the people of Jammu and Kashmir are against the new industrial policy, separate townships for Kashmiri Pandits and separate colonies for ex-servicemen,” the statement added.
All the three leaders said that the time had come when the people should rise to defend their existence, individuality, their Muslim Identity and the disputed status of Kashmir and to start an effective struggle against the dangerous plans of RSS in the territory. They said that India was doing all this just to strengthen its forced military occupation in Kashmir. They said, the policymakers of India fully know this fact that sooner or later they will have to accept the plebiscite demand and that the end result will not be in their favour so under a planned manner they are trying to change the demography of the territory and want to convert the Muslim majority into minority.
“The Indian policymakers want to settle non-state subjects in Kashmir in different names like soldier colonies and separate townships for Pandits,” the statement further said.
The leaders said that India was using the same experience in Jammu and Kashmir which Israel had tested in Palestine.
They jointly appealed to the people from all walks of life including transporters, traders, employees and shopkeepers to make the shutdown a success.
They said that it was their collective fight for their collective existence and every citizen should play his part in this regard. The leaders also asked the youth particularly students to play their role in making the programme exemplary, disciplined and dignified.
Earlier, Muhammad Yasin Malik separately met Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and two other liberation leaders, Shakil Bakhshi and Mushtaq-ul-Islam, and discussed with them the prevailing situation in the territory.
