The Hurriyat leaders in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir have emphasized the significance of July 19 in the history of Jammu and Kashmir, highlighting that on this day in 1947, the people of Kashmir decided their accession to Pakistan even before the partition of the Indian subcontinent. According to Kashmir Media Service, on 19th July 1947, the genuine representatives of the Kashmiris unanimously passed the resolution of Kashmir’s Accession to Pakistan during a meeting of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference at the residence of Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan in Aabi Guzar area of Srinagar. Senior APHC leaders, including Prof Abdul Ghani Butt, Muhammad Saleem Zargar, Ghulam Muhammad Khan Sopori, Syed Bashir Andrabi, Khawaja Firdous, Muhammad Yousuf Naqash, Ghulam Nabi War, Maulvi Musaib Nadvi, Abdul Samad Inqilabi, Muhammad Haseeb Wani, Yasmeen Raja, Fareeda Behanji, Muhammad Aakib and Hafsa Bano, in their statements in Srinagar said that the decision made on July 19, 1947, was a clear testimony to the fact that the people of Kashmir had linked their future with Pakistan.

They noted that the people of Kashmir observe July 19 as Accession to Pakistan Day every year to express their enduring love and political alignment with Pakistan. The statements underscored that July 19, 1947, was a defining moment in Kashmir's history when the Kashmiri leadership unanimously decided to link their future with the then yet-to-be-born state of Pakistan. Meanwhile, the APHC-AJK leaders including Shaikh Abdul Mateen, Muhammad Sultan Butt, Imtiyaz Ahmad Wani and Shaikh Abdul Majid in their statements said tha the Kashmiris remember 19 July as the day they chose their destiny with Pakistan. They added that the Kashmiris' demand for freedom & accession to Pakistan continues undeterred despite Indian oppression. They maintained that the spirit of 19 July 1947 guides the ongoing resistance and aspirations of the Kashmiri people, emphasizing that history has shown that freedom movements cannot be suppressed through brute force.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan