Kashmiri diaspora proposes September 1 as ‘Youm-e-Baba-i-Hurriyat’

BIRMINGHAM – The Kashmiri diaspora has proposed to Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government to declare September 01 as ‘Youm-e-Baba-i-Hurriyat’ or ‘Day of Father of Freedom Movement’ in Indian Illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIoJK) in honor of Shaheed Syed Ali Geelani.

In a letter addressed to AJK Prime Minister Sardar Tanvir Ilyas Khan, Kashmiri diaspora leader Fahim Kayani has said commemoration of first martyrdom anniversary of Shaheed Geelani is a step towards recalling his relentless efforts to free Kashmir from India’s illegal military occupation.

“History of South Asia bears testimony that Shaheed Geelani was one among few Muslim leaders and scholars whose vision for an Islamic welfare state for the Muslims of the region will be studied for generations to come,” Kayani, president of Tehreek-e-Kashmir UK, wrote to AJK premier in the letter.

“Shaheed Geelani Sahab’s relentless resistance against India, which wears a facade of a democracy, as a neo-colonial power has no parallel in contemporary times. It was the leadership of Shaheed Geelani that unmasked India that people could see a beast in the form of an illegal military regime occupying IIoJK,” Kayani said, proposing seven initiatives to immortalize legacy of Shaheed Geelani.

Geelani, the life-time chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference in Indian Illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIoJK), attained martyrdom on the night of Sept. 01, 2021 when he was serving under illegal detention at his home in Hyderpora in uptown Srinagar, the capital of IIoJK.

The fascist Indian troops raided his home, beat up his family, relatives and neighbors and dragged his body out of the house and later forcibly buried it in the dead of the night.

To pay tributes to Shaheed Geelani’s commitment to the ideology of Pakistan; his respect for the people of Azad Kashmir for liberating this part of the region and his services to the nation of Kashmir towards attaining freedom from illegal occupation of India, Kayani proposed to AJK Prime Minister Khan to declare Sept. 1 as ‘Youm-e-Baba-i-Hurriyat’ or ‘Day of Father of Freedom Movement’.

Kayani said the AJK government should also hold special programs to recall efforts and services of Shaheed Geelani for the liberation of IIoJK while all educational institutions viz schools, colleges and universities should hold special programs on Sept. 01 to discuss and debate the life and times of Shaheed Geelani.

The UK-based diaspora leader also suggested that the AJK government should announce a policy framework to study services of Shaheed Geelani so that it is included in resistance literature for future generations. Kayani urged AJK premier to call for demonstrations against forced burial of Shaheed Geelani and seek return of his body for burial according to wishes of the Kashmiri nation.

Pointing to important role of Pakistan in Kashmir dispute resolution, Kayani said the office of AJK prime minister should engage with Government of Pakistan and its different institutions and different political parties of Pakistan to release special messages and hold special programs to commemorate first martyrdom anniversary of Shaheed Geelani.

He added that the office of AJK prime minister should also invite the Azad Kashmir-based All Parties Hurriyat Conference on the day for a special meeting to deliberate on the ground situation in IIoJK.