The All Parties Hurriyat Conference leadership has paid glowing tributes to martyred prominent Huriyat leader, Muhammad Maqbool Butt  who was hanged by Indian government on February 11, 1984 in Indian Tihar Jail.  According to Kashmir Media Service, the APHC spokesman Advocate Abdul Rashid Minhas said that jailed APHC leader, Maulvi Bashir Irfani in a massage from  IIOJK Jail while paying tributes to Shaheed Maqbool Butt urged the need for legal course to seek the shifting of mortal remains of martyred liberation leader from Tihar Jail to Mazar-e-Shuhada, Srinagar. He said that it was an obligation upon the Indian government under international law and other international covenants to hand over the Butt’s mortal remains to the people of Kashmir.

He vowed to continue the Shaheed leader’s mission till its logical end. The other Hurriyet leaders including Ghulam Muhammad Khan Sopori, Bashir Andrabi, Zamrooda Habib, Fahreeda Behanji, Yasmeen Raja, Khawaja Firdous, Imtiyaz Reshi, Maulana Musaib Nadvi, Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party, Jammu and Kashmir Muslim League and Tehreek-e -urriyet Jammu and Kashmir in their separate statements paying homage to Martyr Maqbool Butt, said that it was Maqbool Butt who had shown the path of martyrdom to Kashmiri youth to achieve their cherished goal of freedom. 

They said that Kashmiris were proud of their great leaders who had been nurturing the freedom struggle in Kashmir with their blood.  They also demanded the return of mortal remains of martyred Kashmiri leader from New Delhi’s Tahar Jail to Mazar-e-Shuhada Srinagar. They called upon the United Nations and human rights organisations to impress upon India in this regard.  Meanwhile, speakers at a conference organized by Kashmir Council Europe (KCEU) in Brussels, the EU headquarters on the martyrdom anniversaries of Shaheed Maqbool Butt and Shaheed Afzal Guru, emphasized that the sacrifices of these martyrs will never be forgotten.

The speakers of the event included KCEU’s Chair Ali Raza Syed, President World Kashmir Diaspora Alliance Chaudhry Khalid Joshi, prominent Kashmir figures Sardar Siddique and Raja Khalid, member of JKLF Europe Sardar Zaheer Zahid and noted social figure Shiraz Butt, Veteran European Journalist Andre Barcs and former member of Brussels parliament Dr. Manzoor Zahoor. The Human Rights Activist Ahsan Untoo also spoke through a conference call from Srinagar.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)