Kashmiris must continue just fight for freedom: Syed Ali Geelani

Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Geelani has appealed to the people of occupied Kashmir to continue their resistance against Indian brutality without losing courage.

Geelani, in his first statement received by Kashmir Media Service from house arrest since the scrapping of occupied Kashmir’s special status by India on August 5, said there is no other alternative but to fight.

“India should know that even if they bring their entire armed forces into occupied Jammu and Kashmir, even then the people of Jammu and Kashmir will not abandon the struggle for their rights and liberation.

“We must fight the enemy in unison. History remains witness to the fact that big military powers have repeatedly perished in front of the force of peoples’ unity and truth. Courage, patience, and discipline are those weapons of a defenseless people which can defeat the enemy with howsoever enormous an arsenal,” he wrote.

The APHC chairman lamented that the entire region has been transformed into a prison. “Even as we continue to receive immensely grim news from every corner, the Indian State has made extensive efforts to hide their campaign of brutal repression from the outside world. Not only have they blocked the entire communication systems used by common people since about the beginning of the month, they have also gagged local reportage and news media without any formal declaration. No news about the brutalities and repression of the Indian armed forces, killings, and arrests of thousands of youth is being published. Common people are unable to know about their kith and kin. The oppressors might try to hide reality, but history will not spare anyone.”

“In spite of India’s best efforts, the Kashmir issue is being highlighted throughout the world like never before. The recently concluded United Nations Security Council meeting on Kashmir, as well as the international media coverage, are its clear examples. In this scenario, we hope that this message reaches you via the international media,” he wrote.

“This is a great victory for us that now no narrative apart from our ideals of the struggle for self-determination and justice remain relevant in the Kashmiri political discourse. Even those who would never tire of flaunting their pro-India credentials and ties to the Indian system have realized that the Indian State does not care about the lives of Kashmiri people, but is only interested in occupying our land whatsoever the cost,” he said.

Geelani urged the Kashmiri people living outside occupied Kashmir to keep themselves informed of the situation back home. “They must participate in the resistance struggle by acting as ambassadors of Kashmiri people all over the world. They should use their knowledge of Kashmir’s history and their own lived experiences to highlight the oppression and brutalities of the Indian State. They should also connect with other marginalized and struggling nationalities in other parts of the world and forge solidarities of resistance.”

The leader also appealed to Pakistan, and the Muslim Ummah in general, to come forward at this crucial juncture to help the besieged people of Kashmir. “You are an important party to the Kashmir dispute and this is the time for unity and action. Today, if you once again get ensconced in so-called pragmatism and fail to act decisively, then neither history will forgive you nor will your coming generations. You must continue to heighten your political and diplomatic initiatives to the highest level and respond to the deceit of the Indian occupation with full strength and determination.”