Srinagar, Leaders of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) today paid rich tributes to Muhammad Afzal Guru on his 11th martyrdom anniversary, honoring him and other martyrs for their ultimate sacrifice in the struggle for freedom in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Muhammad Afzal Guru was executed in New Delhi’s Tihar Jail on this day in 2013, a fate shared by another prominent Kashmiri liberation leader, Muhammad Maqbool Butt, who was hanged in the same facility on February 11, 1984. Both were buried within the jail premises, denying them a burial in their homeland.
Nayeem Ahmad Khan, an APHC leader currently detained in Tihar Jail, conveyed his reverence for the sacrifices of Guru and Butt, stating, “The entire Kashmiri nation is proud of these sons of the soil who embraced martyrdom rather than surrender their principles.” Khan criticized the Indian authorities for their ongoing persecution of the Kashmiri people and described the execution of Guru and Butt as a stain on India’s justice system. He reaffirmed the Kashmiri resolve to continue their struggle for self-determination.
Other jailed APHC leaders, including Molvi Bashir Ahmad, Bilal Siddiqi, and Abdul Ahad Parra, criticized the Indian judiciary’s biased treatment and the denial of a fair trial to Afzal Guru, labeling it a stark injustice.
In statements issued in Srinagar, APHC leaders Syed Bashir Andrabi, Ghulam Muhammad Khan Sopori, Farida Bahenji, and several others lauded the commitment of Afzal Guru and Muhammad Maqbool Butt to the Kashmir cause. They vowed that the Kashmiri people would persist in their quest for freedom, regardless of the sacrifices required.
The leaders emphasized that the Kashmiri struggle for independence from Indian rule has spanned more than seven decades, marked by significant sacrifices. They asserted that the Kashmir issue remains unresolved and must be addressed in accordance with UN resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people, highlighting the international dimension of the dispute.