The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and affiliated leaders have extended heartfelt tributes to the victims of the Handwara and other massacres, mostly carried by Indian forces in the month of January in occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). According to Kashmir Media Service, on the 34th anniversary of the Handwara massacre, the APHC spokesperson issued a statement in Srinagar, recounting the tragic events of that day. The spokesman highlighted that on this day, Indian occupational forces fired indiscriminately on participants of a peaceful procession in Handwara who were advocating their right to self-determination. On 25 January 1990, at least 21 unarmed Kashmiris were martyred by Indian troops in north Kashmir’s Handwara town. A few days earlier, on January 21 1990, over 50 innocent people were martyred and hundreds were injured when the troops had opened indiscriminate fire on peaceful protesters in Gaw Kadal area of Srinagar.

APHC leaders Shahid Saleem, Farooq Ahmed, Adv Arshad Iqbal and human rights activist Ahsan Untoo, while commemorating the victims of the January massacres, appealed to the international community, especially the United Nations, to exert pressure on India to conduct thorough investigations into these massacres and other innocent killings. The January massacres mentioned include the tragic events of January 21, 1990, where at least fifty persons were killed during a peaceful procession at Basant Bagh, Srinagar. On January 25, 1990, 17 people were ruthlessly murdered in Handwara when BSF troopers opened fire on peaceful protesters. Another massacre occurred on January 27, 1994, in Kupwara, resulting in the death of twenty-seven persons and injuries to 36.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)