In occupied Kashmir, Hurriyat leaders have paid glowing tributes to prominent Kashmiri liberation leaders, Muhammad Afzal Guru and Muhammad Maqbool Butt, on the eve of their martyrdom anniversaries and reiterated their demand for the transfer of the mortal remains of the two leaders to Kashmir from New Delhi’s Tihar Jail.
The Indian authorities had hanged Muhammad Afzal Guru in Tihar Jail on 9th February in 2013 while Muhammad Maqbool Butt was sent to the gallows in the same jail on 11th February in 1984. The bodies of the two leaders remain buried in the premises of the jail.
The Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Gilani in a statement issued in Srinagar said, Shaheed Muhammad Maqbool Butt and Muhammad Afzal Guru are heroes of the Kashmiri people who are proud of them. “We reiterate our demand for the return of the mortal remains of both the martyrs who were buried in the Tihar Jail premises. Although it is purely a human issue, but India is very reluctant to this demand thereby violating all the principles of morality and constitution and in this way its claim of being the largest democracy in the world is getting badly exposed,” he said.
The APHC Chairman said that the people of Kashmir were resisting India’s illegal occupation of their homeland for the last 70 years and during this period thousands of valiant and bold Kashmiris had sacrificed their precious lives for this cause but Muhammad Maqbool Butt and Muhammad Afzal Guru were two separate cases among the Kashmiri martyrs as they were detained, executed and buried in the same jail and in same month.
“Maqbool Butt has a special status in the freedom struggle of Kashmir and if he can be termed as the first solider of the struggle then Muhammad Afzal Guru’s last letter became a new milestone of the freedom struggle and set a new trend. His last letter clearly depicts that he was an ideological person and his emotions were having the backing of faith, intellect and conscience,” he said. “They are source of inspiration for us and the best way of paying tributes to them is that the Kashmiris should not forget these brave sons of the soil, who had sacrificed their present for the future of their people,” he added.
The illegally detained Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, Muhammad Yasin Malik, in a message from Srinagar Central Jail while paying homage to Muhammad Maqbool Butt described him as symbol of freedom and liberty. He said, Muhammad Maqbool Butt is the corner stone of Kashmiris’ resistance against forcible occupation and his struggle and sacrifices represent every oppressed and subjugated human. “He was an ideologue, a warrior, a leader and an intellectual who led Kashmiris on all fronts,” Yasin Malik added.
Hurriyat leader, Bilal Siddiqi, paying tributes to Muhammad Afzal Guru and Muhammad Maqbool Butt on their martyrdom anniversaries said that the two leaders would continue to inspire generations to come as great symbols of courage and sacrifices and would be acting as guiding lights for subjugated people throughout the world to stand firm and determined against all sorts of tyranny and tyrannical tactics. He said that the beset tribute to Muhammad Maqbool Butt, Muhammad Afzal Guru and other Kashmiri martyrs was to carry forward their mission and take it to its logical conclusion.
