–Imran pays tribute to Kashmiris on Youm-e-Shuhada
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday paid rich tribute to the people of occupied Kashmir for continuing to “valiantly fight and defy a Hindutva supremacist regime” in India which he said was “bent on demographic engineering” to alter the status of the disputed territory.
The tribute comes as Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border between Pakistan and India along the valley, and the world over observe Youm-e-Shuhada-e-Kashmir with a renewed pledge to accomplish the mission of martyrs till achievement of the goal of liberation from Indian bondage.
In a series of tweets posted early morning, the prime minister said: “Today, […] we salute Kashmiris for their continued struggle against the illegal & barbaric Indian occupation of Jammu & Kashmir.”
Today, on Yaum-e-Shuhada-e-Kashmir, we salute Kashmiris for their continued struggle against the illegal & barbaric Indian occupation of Jammu & Kashmir. The Shuhada of 13 July 1931 were the forefathers of today’s Kashmiri resistance.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) July 13, 2020
“The Shuhada [martyres] of 13 July 1931 were the forefathers of today’s Kashmiri resistance,” he added, referring toward the 22 Kashmiris who were killed 89 years ago today for daring to defy the Dogra Raj in the valley.
Imran observed that “their descendants have […] laid down their lives for freedom,” saying: “[…] they continue to valiantly fight & defy a Hindutva Supremacist regime bent on demographic engineering to wipe out the Kashmiri people & their identity.”
Their descendants have, generation after generation, laid down their lives for freedom and today they continue to valiantly fight & defy a Hindutva Supremacist regime bent on demographic engineering to wipe out the Kashmiri people & their identity.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) July 13, 2020
He assured the people of Kashmir that “the day is not far” when the valley will be “liberated from the clutches of Indian illegal occupation”.
“Pakistan has always stood steadfast for the Kashmiri right to self-determination and will continue to support this just struggle,” he tweeted.
Their descendants have, generation after generation, laid down their lives for freedom and today they continue to valiantly fight & defy a Hindutva Supremacist regime bent on demographic engineering to wipe out the Kashmiri people & their identity.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) July 13, 2020
The Inter-services Public Relations (ISPR) said that the day was “reminiscent of [the] utmost price paid for freedom by brave Kashmiris”.
In a tweet, ISPR Director General Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar said that “decades of Indian atrocities failed to suppress insurmountable spirit & legitimate freedom struggle” of the Kashmiris, which was “destined to succeed”.
#KashmirMartyrsDay is reminiscent of utmost price paid 4 freedom by brave Kashmiris. Every single drop of blood shed, shall not be forgotten nor forgiven. Decades of Indian atrocities failed 2 suppress insurmountable spirit & legitimate freedom struggle, destined to succeed, IA
— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) July 12, 2020
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shahbaz Sharif said the 22 martyred Kashmiris in 1931 had “written a history of bravery”.
“Despite [the] intensification of violence post-August 5 by India, Kashmiris of all ages & across genders are challenging Modi’s fascism today with their blood. They are [the] hope of future!” he tweeted.
22 Kashmiri youth took on despotic Dogra Raj in 1931 & wrote a history of bravery. Despite intensification of violence
post-August 5 by India, Kashmiris of all ages & across genders are
challenging Modi’s fascism today with their blood. They are hope of future! #KashmirMartyrsDay— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) July 13, 2020
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, while paying tribute to the martyrs said that their courage had “regalvanised a decades old struggle for self-determination in 1931”, which he said was an “inalienable right Kashmiris continue to die for to this day”.
He added that no occupation could “subjugate [the brave] spirit of Kashmir”.
I pay tribute to 22 sons of J&K whose courage in face of brutal Dogra forces regalvanized a decades old struggle for self-determination in 1931; an inalienable right Kashmiris continue to die for to this day. No occupation can subjugate spirit of brave Kashmir #KashmirMartyrsDay
— Shah Mahmood Qureshi (@SMQureshiPTI) July 13, 2020
