Srinagar, Leaders of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) commemorated the anniversary of the Kupwara massacre by paying tributes to the victims and calling for an international investigation into mass killings in occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

According to Kashmir Media Service, the tragic event being remembered occurred in 1994, when Indian troops killed 27 innocent civilians in Kupwara town. The attack, involving indiscriminate firing, was reportedly a retaliation against the locals for observing a shutdown on the previous day, coinciding with Indian Republic Day.

APHC leaders, including Ghulam Muhammad Khan Sopori, Abdul Ahad, Abdul Samad Inqilabi, Fayaz Hussain Jafari, Syed Sibte Shabbir Qumi, Ghulam Nabi Waseem, Maulana Musaib Nadvi, and organizations like Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir, Democratic Freedom Movement, along with human rights activist Muhammad Ahsan Untoo, issued statements in Srinagar. They described the Kupwara massacre as a glaring example of state terrorism by India in Kashmir. The leaders emphasized that the sacrifices of Kashmiri martyrs had brought international attention to the Kashmir dispute.

The statements expressed disappointment over the lack of accountability for Indian troops involved in the Kupwara massacre and other incidents in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). The APHC leaders affirmed that the Kashmiri people are determined to honor the sacrifices of their martyrs and achieve their goal, urging the international community to hold India responsible for its actions in occupied Kashmir and to resolve the dispute in line with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.

Additionally, APHC-AJK Convener Mehmood Ahmed Saghar and other leaders in Islamabad highlighted the world community’s failure to pressure India to punish those responsible for mass killings in occupied Kashmir. They stated that despite India’s brutal tactics, the Kashmiri people remain undeterred in their pursuit of freedom from illegal occupation.