Hakeem anguished over exclusion of July 13, Late SMA’s birthday from official holiday list

Srinagar : Chairman Peoples Democratic Front ( PDF) and former Minister Hakeem Muhammad Yaseen has expressed anguish over exclusion of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah’s birthday on Dec.5 and July 13, from the official holiday list for 2025. He said though the holidays encompassing a wide array of national , religious, and region’s cultural diversity, such as Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s Birthday (Jan 6), Republic Day (Jan 26), Eid-ul-Fitr (March 31), Independence Day (Aug 15), and Diwali (Oct 21have rightly been included in the 2025 calendar , but Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah’s birthday and July 13 have erroneously been excluding from the holiday list which has severely hurt sentiments of the majority of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
In a statement issued on Tuesday ,Hakeem while expressing anguish over the exclusion of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah’s birthday and July 13, from the official holiday list for 2025 said that both these days have pivotal historical significance in the socio – political arena of J&K. He said Shiekh Abdullah was a towering leader who has played a significant role in the freedom struggle and socio – political awakening of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. “Deliberately repeating the mistake of omitting Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah’s birthday and July 13, from the holiday list demonstrates myopic outlook and arrogance despite the fact that Omar-led government had already submitted the proposal of reinstating the Dec 5 holiday which seems to have been rejected summarily.
PDF Chairman has said that continued omission of these holidays days raises questions, on power sharing between Centre and the J&K government . He said while the holiday calendar for 2025 honors key historical figures like Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Maharaja Hari Singh, the absence of Sheikh Abdullah’s Birthday and July 13 remains a contentious issue. Yaseen has said that in view of their socio- political significance in the history of Jammu and Kashmir , inclusion of Shiekh Abdullas’s birthday on Dec.5 and July 13 , was a general public yearning and not any particular party’s demand . He said this public issue should not get wrangled in any complex power dynamics as is evidently felt .