GM Safi
ISLAMABAD
Convener of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Ghulam Muhammad Safi, has said that the historic sacrifices of Shaheed Maqbool Butt, Shaheed Muhammad Afzal Guru, and other Kashmiri martyrs are the most valuable assets of the freedom movement and the ultimate guarantors of its success. He emphasized that these sacrifices have infused renewed spirit, ideological clarity, and resilience into the struggle for the complete independence of Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
He expressed these views while addressing a special ceremony organized jointly by the All Parties Hurriyat Conference and the Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Cell at the APHC Central Office in Islamabad to pay tribute to the martyrs of Kashmir.
Paying glowing tribute, Safi said that Shaheed Maqbool Butt and Afzal Guru are the shining stars of the freedom movement whose sacred blood has breathed new life into the struggle. He stated that the unjust execution of Afzal Guru by the Indian state has further strengthened the resolve of the Kashmiri people and ignited fresh passion within the resistance movement.
Strongly criticizing the Indian judiciary, Safi said that a close examination of its verdicts exposes deep-rooted injustice and political bias. He termed the hanging of Afzal Guru a judicial murder, carried out despite the court’s own admission that the charges against him could not be conclusively proven. Punishing an individual merely to satisfy the so-called “collective conscience,” he said, has no parallel in credible judicial systems.
Safi added that Maqbool Butt, Afzal Guru, and other martyrs are the true heroes of the Kashmiri nation, and that India cannot suppress the legitimate aspirations of Kashmiris through repression and brute force. He urged the international community to take immediate notice of grave human rights violations in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and to ensure the Kashmiri people’s internationally recognized right to self-determination. He further warned that rising Hindu extremism in India has transformed into organized terror, leaving minorities increasingly unsafe.
Speaking on the occasion of Kashmir Solidarity Day, APHC Secretary General Advocate Parvez Ahmed Shah expressed gratitude to the people of Pakistan and overseas Pakistanis for their unwavering moral, political, and diplomatic support, terming it a major source of strength for the Kashmiri people.
The participants also strongly condemned the recent tragic terrorist incident in the Tarlai area of Islamabad. Expressing deep sorrow over the loss of innocent lives, they extended heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and reaffirmed that terrorism has no religion or justification.
The speakers further noted that the execution of Afzal Guru on February 9, 2013, followed by the refusal to hand over his body to his family and his burial within jail premises, was a stark manifestation of institutional injustice and extremism.
The ceremony was also addressed by former Convener Mahmood Ahmed Saghar, Director Liberation Cell Raja Afsar Khan, Daud Khan Yousafzai, Ms. Shamim Shawl, and Najeeb-ul-Ghafoor Khan. All speakers reaffirmed their unwavering commitment to continue the mission of the martyrs and vowed that the Kashmiri people would persist in their struggle until the realization of their right to self-determination.
