MIRPUR (AJK)-The 44th martyrdom anniversary of Hanif Shaheed and Basharat Shaheed will be commemorated in Azad Jammu Kashmir, Pakistan and United Kingdom today.
The martyrs had held hostage the staff of the Indian High Commission in London on this day in 1973 at the toy gunpoint for the release of 90,000 Pakistani prisoners of war during the Fall of Dhaka in 1971.
The people will renew the pledge to continue the mission of Kashmiri martyrs till the liberation of occupied Jammu Kashmir from the Indian clutches.
Special ceremonies will be held to observe the anniversary at the mausoleums of Bashrat Shaheed at Palak and Hanif Shaheed in Mirpur jointly under the auspices of various social, political and governmental organisations, Mirpur Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Raja Farooq Akram said.
People from different walks of life will visit the mausoleums of the two martyrs in the village in outskirt of Mirpur city and Hanif Shaeed’s mazar at Markazi Eid Gah graveyard in the city. They will place floral wreaths there and offer fateha for the departed souls.
Other dignitaries from various parts of AJK will attend special ceremonies to be held at the mausoleums of the ‘Martyrs of London’ in order to pay glorious tributes to the two Kashmir-born British nationals hailing from Mirpur Azad Kashmir and their companion Ghazi Dalawar.
Rich tributes will be paid to Basharat Shaheed, Hanif Shaheed and Ghazi Dilawar for laying down the supreme sacrifice of their lives for the Kashmir cause. They pledged to continue the mission of the valiant sons of the soil for the cause of freedom and for the achievement of the Kashmiris’ legitimate right to self-determination. “By observing the martyrdom anniversary of the martyrs of London on March 20 every year, Jammu and Kashmir people reiterate their firm resolve that Pakistan is the ultimate fate of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and they will leave no stone unturned to achieve the goal in line with the international norms and commitments vis-à-vis the just and principled settlement of Kashmir issue in line with their (Kashmiris) aspirations,” organisers of the scheduled ceremonies said.
“Like all the previous years, the Kashmiri Martyrs Day will also be observed with the renewal of pledge to continue the struggle for the completion of their mission of making the Kashmir freedom movement a complete success,” said Sideeque Chaudhry, president of Martyrs of London Memorial Society Mirpur. He unveiled elaborated programmes to observe the Kashmiri martyrs of London anniversary in Mirpur and rest of AJK.