SRINAGAR: Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control and around the world solemnly observed Jammu Martyrs’ Day today, reaffirming their commitment to continue the martyrs’ mission until achieving the right to self-determination.

According to Kashmir Media Service, the day remembers the hundreds of thousands of Kashmiris martyred by forces of Dogra Maharaja Hari Singh, the Indian Army, and Hindutva fanatics during their migration to Pakistan in the first week of November 1947. Observances included special prayers in mosques across Jammu and Kashmir, Azad Kashmir, and Pakistan, seeking freedom from Indian rule.

Senior All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leaders Shabbir Ahmad Shah and Nayeem Ahmed Khan, currently detained in New Delhi’s Tihar Jail, described the 1947 Jammu massacre as a haunting historical atrocity. They called upon the international community to act immediately to prevent further violence in the region.

In a controversial move affecting personal freedoms, the Modi-led Indian government has initiated a plan to monitor Kashmiri individuals using GPS tracker anklets, a decision criticized for its invasion of privacy.

Meanwhile, People’s Democratic Party President Mehbooba Mufti, speaking in Srinagar, expressed her dismay over claims of normalcy in Kashmir by former police chief Dilbag Singh. Questioning the government’s restrictive measures, Mufti highlighted the Modi administration’s order prohibiting prayers for Gaza victims, linking it to the suppression of freedoms in Kashmir.

In a significant administrative shift, the Indian government has discharged 55 Kashmiri government employees in occupied Jammu and Kashmir for allegedly supporting pro-freedom activities. This development, announced by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, is seen as an attempt to replace local employees with pro-Hindutva activists from India.

At an event in Islamabad organized by APHC-AJK and Kashmir Liberation Council, speakers urged global intervention in the Kashmir dispute to avert a crisis akin to the ongoing Middle East conflict over Palestine.