In Indian held Kashmir, the joint resistance leadership comprising Syed Ali Gilani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik, has called for complete shutdown on Sunday (April 2) against the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s proposed visit to the territory.
Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit occupied Kashmir to inaugurate Chenani-Nashri tunnel in Jammu region on April 2.
The resistance leaders said in respective statements said that “Indian Prime Minister is visiting at a time, when situation is extremely gloomy and massacres, detentions and blinding continue and there seems no let up. Thousands are languishing in jails and authorities are denying any space for peaceful political activities.”
They said, we don’t have any animosity with Indian Prime Minister, however, it is painful that instead of taking notice of genocide in Jammu and Kashmir, he is awarding and rewarding the assassins. They urged people to observe protest shutdown against Modi’s visit. They said that strike was their only option to highlight the serious situation in the Indian held territory.
The leaders said that the Kashmir issue was not about governance, economic packages or incentives, nor was it a law and order problem, but an issue pertaining to the right to self-determination of millions of Kashmiris.
The leaders pointed out that held Kashmir is reeling under black laws like Armed Forces Special Powers Act and Indian forces’ personnel enjoy impunity to kill or blind whosoever comes in their way. They said that the puppet authorities were shielding the wrongdoers and in the absence of any accountability, no guilty soldier or policeman was punished or tried under law.
Referring to the disappeared persons, the statement said, “It is painful that he (Modi) never took interest to inquire about those disappeared in Indian forces’ custody, seven thousand unmarked graves and even preferred to turn blind eye towards gruesome events of Kunanposhpora-like episodes.”
The resistance leaders expressed shock at the so-called Indian Parliamentary elections being held amidst continued bloodshed in the territory. They said, sham polls held under the shadow of gun have lost credibility and the sole aim of this drama is to mislead the international community. They reiterated that the Kashmir dispute could not be resolved through farcical elections as the core issue was related to aspirations and sentiments of millions of Kashmiris.
“India tried its methods, deployed forces and made various efforts to lure people with construction works and development, but to no avail. It is better to shun stubborn attitude and acknowledge realities and aspirations,” the statement added