Srinagar, September 04, 2021 (PPI-OT):In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the Chairman of Hurriyat forum, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who is under house detention since August 2019, has condoled the demise of the veteran Hurriyat leader, Syed Ali Gilani, with his sons.
The forum in a statement said that Mirwaiz Umar Farooq spoke to Naseem Gilani and Nayeem Gilani on phone and offered heartfelt condolence on the death of their father. He expressed deep grief at the demise of the veteran resistance leader and regretted that he could not participate in the funeral prayers of the late leader or personally visit the family to express condolences due to his house arrest.
The Mirwaiz expressed shock and was pained to learn from the late leader’s sons that the Indian authorities had taken his dead body into their custody when the family said they could not make funeral arrangements in just one hour the time limit set by the authorities, though he believed that any form of repression in the name of law and order can be expected by the Indian regime.
He said that it is tragically inhuman to deny a family the basic right of burial of their loved one and expressed empathy with the family for what they had to go through. He said that in this hour of grief the whole nation stands with them and mourns the death of Gilani sahib.
In the statement, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq paid glowing tributes to Syed Ali Gilani for his immense contribution and sacrifices on political and resistance fronts for Kashmiris’ right to self-determination, saying the demise of Gilani sahib has not only created a big void in the political corridors of Jammu and Kashmir but also marked the end of an era.
The statement said that the All Parties Hurriyat Conference was created in 1992 under the leadership of young Mirwaiz Umar Farooq to represent the will and sentiments of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Gilani sahib extended every possible and sincere support to the young Mirwaiz to take forward its vision and mission.
The Hurriyat forum Chairman and all leaders pay great homage to the veteran resistance leader for his consistency, steadfastness and courage and time and again enduring imprisonments and incarcerations, the statement said. They said the continuous house imprisonment of Gilani sahib despite his old age and various ailments became reasons for his ill health which ultimately led to his demise.
The forum strongly condemned the occupation authorities for imposing curfew and communication clampdown and not allowing the family members and people to take part in the last rites and funeral prayers of the veteran leader.
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