Youth sacrificing precious lives for sacred cause: Geelani

Srinagar: Paying tributes to the slain of Kulgam and Kokarnag encounters, Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman, Syed Ali Geelani Wednesday said that “everyday our youth are sacrificing their precious lives for the sacred cause of freedom from Indian clutches, making all of us duty bound to safeguard these sacrifices with utmost commitment and dedication.”
“India is suffering from arrogance of power and has tried its best to muzzle our voice—but has utterly failed to do so, and its military might or brutality can never deter us from achieving our much cherished goal of right to self-determination,” Geelani said in a statement issued here on Wednesday.
He said that situation in the valley is worsening with each passing day and that Indian authorities rely on their military might to suppress people’s aspirations and muzzle their legitimate demand for Right to Self Determination.
Geelani regretted that the stubborn attitude of India regarding this globally accepted political dispute and adoption of any military solution can bring in its wake widespread death and destruction in the whole sub-continent and make vulnerable peace and harmony of the whole region as well. He said that with the resolution of this issue a new era of peace, stability and development will prevail not only in Indo-Pak sub-continent but in whole South Asia.
Meanwhile, terming fresh onslaught against the civilian populace, especially the youth, in the nook and corner of the state as ‘a worst example of state terrorism’, Hurriyat Conference (G) said that the forces along with Special Operation Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir police have let loose a reign of terror and people in general are harassed on one pretext or the other.
“Use of brute force has become a routine matter. Frequent search operations are conducted to display military might and suppress the common people to keep them under a permanent fear psychosis,” the statement reads.
Condemning ‘repressive measures’ adopted by the forces, Hurriyat (G) termed it “a worst form of political vengeance against the freedom loving people of Kashmir.” Spokesman said that on the basis of information received by the Hurriyat Office, hundreds of common people hailing from Kulgam, Kokernag, Soibugh Budgam, Sopore, Pulwama and other areas have been critically injured, ruthlessly beaten and taken into custody on flimsy and baseless grounds.
Citing the example of Shehnawaz, who is not affiliated with any organization, has been incarcerated and lodged in Kathua jail. The said person is a civilian and father of 3 kids. Fayaz Ahmad of Soibugh Budgam is striving between life and death at Soura hospital, he added.
Similarly hundreds of youth including the teenaged students get showers of bullets and pellets without any provocation, said Hurriyat (G). Condemning the use of military might on the peaceful procession demanding their right to self-determination, the amalgam urged the authorities not to miscalculate Jammu and Kashmir as a law and order problem, but to accept the hard reality that it is an internationally accepted dispute which demands an early resolution in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of the people.