Srinagar, January 04 (KMS): In occupied Kashmir, Youm-e-Taqaddus was observed, today, to reaffirm the Kashmiris’ determination that the sanctity of religious centres of the territory would be preserved by all means.
Call for the observance of the day was given by the Joint Resistance Leadership in the backdrop of the desecration of Jamia Masjid Srinagar last Friday.
A large number of people from all walks of life including political, religious, social and trade leaders attended a mammoth gathering held at the Jamia Masjid in connection with the Youm-e-Taqaddus. They condemned the attempts to desecrate the Grand Mosque, saying that such actions were intolerable. The gathering was presided over by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and attended among others by Muhammad Yasin Malik, Zahid Ali, Maulana Zubair Tahiri, Maulana Showkat Hussain Keng, Ghulam Muhammad Nagoo and Maulana Sibt-e-Shabbir Qummi. The All Parties Hurriyat Conference Chairman, Syed Ali Gilani, addressed the gathering on phone. The speakers denounced the efforts of linking the Kashmir movement with the world terror outfits. They appreciated the Kashmiri youth for their role in the ongoing Kashmir freedom struggle. The speakers emphasized that the Jamia Masjid Srinagar has been a symbol of the Kashmiris’ aspirations and an epicenter of the activities against the Indian occupation. Indian police arrested Hurriyat leader, Mukhtar Ahmad Waza, near Pazalpora area of Bijbehara when he was on his way to Srinagar to participate in Youm-e-Taqaddus programmes.
Meanwhile, thousands of people, today, participated in the funeral prayers of the three martyred youth in their native Chursoo and Laribal areas in Pulwama district. Indian troops had martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation at Gulshan Pora in Tral area of the district, yesterday. The participants of the funerals raised high-pitched pro-freedom, pro-Pakistan and anti-India slogans. Complete shutdown was observed in Tral, Awantipora and other areas of the district to mourn the martyrdom of the youth. The occupation authorities continued to suspend internet services for the second consecutive day in many areas of the district. Hurriyat leaders and organizations in their statements paid glowing tributes to the martyred youth.
The Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Freedom Movement, Muhammad Sharif Sartaj, in a statement issued in Jammu appealed to international human rights organizations to take cognizance of the killings and other human rights violations by Indian troops in occupied Kashmir.
A man, Simranjeet Singh, was killed after unknown gunmen fired at him in Tral area of Pulwama district, today. Simran Jeet was a brother of Sarpanch of Khasipora area of Tral, Rajinder Singh.
On the other hand, the headline of a lead story in an Indian English daily The Telegraph comparing the reaction of Indian forces to protests in occupied Kashmir and in Kerala has gone viral on social media. The story titled ‘IN KASHMIR, WE SHOOT THEM. IN KERALA, WE CALL THEM DEVOTEES’, is about the protests that happened in Kerala Thursday when a Sangh-Parivar outfit tried to enforce shutdown in the southern Indian state.
