ISLAMABAD, August 29 (APP): Marking the first martyrdom anniversary of the iconic leader, Syed Ali Gilani on Thursday, September 1st, the people of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) will march towards Hyderpora Srinagar, where the deceased leader was forcibly buried against his will after taking his family hostage.

The veteran leader had breathed his last at 10:30 p.m on September 1st, 2021. His body was forcibly taken away by occupation forces and buried at 4:30 a.m on September 2nd, even before the relatives living outside Srinagar could have arrived. Only close relatives and neighbours were allowed to participate in the funeral at the local graveyard that was completely sealed by occupation forces. The family was denied to bury him at the Martyrs’ Graveyard in accordance with the will of the late leader.

All these repressive measures were taken because the occupation authorities knew that the martyred Gilani was more dangerous for them than the live one. They realized allowing the proper funeral would trigger massive uprising at a time when India had already made massive deployment of forces to suppress Kashmiris following revocation of article 370 in August 2019.

The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has already given call for shutdown and a march towards the martyrs’ grave to pay tributes to the iconic leader on September 1st 2022. APHC General Secretary Molvi Bashir Ahmad Irfani in a statement issued in Srinagar also called for protest demonstrations.

There is no denying the fact that Kashmiris have lost a great leader in the form of Gilani. He, on the basis of his vision and foresight guided Kashmiris towards a path that heads towards a certain promising future i.e. freedom from Indian subjugation. Gilani was crystal clear in his understanding that slavery was worse than death so Kashmir people must struggle for freedom from Indian slavery that would result in freedom of Kashmir from India.

“He (Gilani) thought that slavery was harder than death and that is why he kept on insisting the Kashmiri nation that if they want to live, they have no option but to struggle,” said Senior All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leader Ghulam Muhammad Safi.

Syed Ali Shah Gilani considered Kashmir as part of Pakistan on the basis of logic and reasoning. He firmly believed that Muslims are a complete separate nation keeping in view their religion, civilization, culture, customs and thought. He believed that their unity was based on the concept of Muslim Ummah and not their homeland, race, language, colour or economic system. This thought was the basis of his ideology that Kashmir is part of Pakistan.

Throughout his life, he not only struggled for this ideology but also instilled spirit among kashmiris. He was staunch advocate of Kashmir’s merger with Pakistan and had given a strong slogan to cultivate spirit of belonging with Pakistan among kashmiri people. His slogan ‘Hum Pakistan hain, Pakistan Hamara hai’ (We are Pakistanis and Pakistan is ours) has become famous slogan for Kashmiris and is resounding in every nook and cranny of occupied territory.

Gilani’s sacrifices for the freedom struggle would be remembered always. He followed the path which he believed was right and become a very strong symbol of resistance for Kashmir and for people struggling for freedom across the world.

“Syed Ali Gilani’s life long struggle for the Kashmir cause would be written in golden words in the annals of Kashmir’s recent history,” said another Senior APHC Leader, Nayeem Ahmed Khan in his message from Tihar Jail.