Trehgam, July 14: Trehgam Resistance Committee on Monday said that there will be no strikes from Tuesday (14th July) onwards and appealed people of Kupwara to resume their normal life.

A big procession of around five thousand people was taken out on Monday from Trehgam to Doolipora graveyard where people in large numbers offered Fateh Khawani and prayed for the bereaved soul. The procession was addressed by senior leader of JKLF and chairman of Trehgam Resistance committee SM Afzal, MLC of Panthers Party Rafiq Shah, Dr Hafizullah Pir, District Bar President Bashir Ahmed Dar and Senior Academic Sikandar Malik.

Addressing the people, the local Resistance Committee formed to spearhead the campaign seeking justice for Shaheed Aamina made it clear that people of the area will resist hard if government tried to washout the facts. They said that one of the culprits was arrested from TR160 Battalion of Indian forces based in Trehgam, his identity card and mobile phone were also recovered from the room where body of Shaheed Amina was later found. They said that the house of Shaheed Amina Masoodi was cordoned off by armed forces during the time of the incident.

The Committee demanded immediate withdrawal of armed forces from the area and arrest of other troopers who were accompanying the trooper on the night Shaheed Aamina was martyred. The committee also demanded the details of the medical report which was yet to be made public. The Resistance Committee warned of huge protests if the authorities failed to take necessary actions against the troopers.

A demonstration was organised by Kashmiri parties in UK in front of Indian High Commission London on Sunday 12 July 2009 against the continued detention of Shabir Ahmed Shah by Indian authorities since August 2008.

This demonstration was a part "Shabir Shah Release Campaign" launched by Kashmiri parties in Diaspora. This demonstration will be followed by meetings with British Foreign & Commonwealth office and human rights groups of all national mainstream parties of UK. Parliamentarians will also be approached and the matter of illegal detention will also be raised in the Houses of Parliament. All international human rights organizations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, International Federation of Human Rights and UNCHR, will also be contacted.

Among others who participated in the demonstration were Prof Zafar Khan, Head Diplomatic Committee JKLF, Prof Nazir Shawl, Director Justice Foundation Kashmir Centre, Ershad Malik, Secretary Diplomatic Affairs of Democratic Freedom Party, Nazir Qureshi of World Kashmir Freedom Movement, Haji Rauf Khan, President JKLF UK Zone and Dr. Misfar Hassan of Jammu Kashmir Liberation League.

(London, July 11, 2009) Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front - JKLF has demanded the immediate and unconditional release of veteran Kashmiri leader Shabir Ahmed Shah. He has been illegally incarcerated by Indian authorities since August 2008.

In a statement issued from London, head of JKLF diplomatic committee Prof. Zafar Khan has said that sacrifices rendered by Shabir Ahmed Shah are enormous and he has stood firm to his commitments despite all odds. He said that this illegal imprisonment was not new to him and such kind of tactics by Indian government can not demoralize the Kashmiri people.

Zafar Khan said that JKLF fully supports “Shabbir Shah Release Committee” formed in London. He said JKLF will support all the measures adopted by the committee in order to secure the release of Shabbir Shah from Indian prison. Zafar Khan further said that JKLF will attend in large numbers in the demonstration in London against the arrest of Shabbir Ahmed Shah. He called on the Indian government to release all political prisoners in Kashmir including Shabbir Ahmed Shah and start a meaningful dialogue for the resolution of Kashmir issue.

Zafar Khan also condemned the molestation and subsequent killing of a Kashmiri girl in Trehgam. He welcomed the formation of a “Trehgam Resistance Committee” by the local people headed by Senior Vice Chairman of JKLF, Sheikh Mohammed Afzal. He offered full support to the committee in order to bring the culprits of this heinous crime to justice.

Zafar Sharif, Secretary Diplomatic Committee, JKLF

By Prof. Zafar Khan

Month of July holds a special place in the hearts and minds of people of Jammu Kashmir. On 13th July 1931 twenty two unarmed peaceful protesters were gunned down by Maharaja Hari Singh’s police out side Srinagar jail while demanding release of Abdul Qadeer, whose only crime was that he dared to condemn the draconian ruler of Kashmir, the Dogra Maharaja. The present phase of the ongoing freedom struggle in Kashmir was also begun in July 1988.

In this long and protracted struggle for emancipation and freedom, hundreds of thousands of Kashmiris have perished, and been forced to become refugees in their own as well as neighbouring countries since the 1940s.

Particularly over the past 21 years Kashmiri nation has lost over a hundred of thousand men women and children including some of its most illustrious sons of the soil. Among this multitude of sacrifices include the martyrdom of Maqbool Butt, Ashfaq Majeed Wani, Abdul Hameed Sheikh, Abdul Gani Lone, Dr Abdul Ahad Guru, Dr Ashai, Professor Abdul Ahad Wani, Shabbir Siddiqui, Basharat Raza, Mirwaiz Molvi Mohammed Farooq, Hilal Baig, Ejaz Dar, Maqbool Ellahi, Altaf Qureshi, Ghulam Rasool Mir, Hardai Nath Wanchoo, Sheikh Abdul Aziz and many more. Ordinary men and women are subjected to most undignified, degrading and humiliating oppressive methods, including rape and summary executions adopted by over 700,000 military operating in the Indian occupied part of Jammu Kashmir.

A nation which has lost two generations of its youth at the hands of Indian State since 1988 cannot therefore be expected to compromise on the sacred principles of justice, democracy and above all freedom which is yet to be realised through the exercise of its inherent, inalienable and internationally pledged and recognised right to self-determination; which to date unfortunately remains denied to the 15 million inhabitants of the divided Jammu Kashmir state as a whole!

The very ideal and objectives for which Kashmiri people have fought and made tremendous sacrifices, since before, and after the fateful day in July 1931 for national emancipation and deliverance from internal and external tyranny cannot be bartered away for any settlement of Kashmir issue, which is within the present framework of Indian constitution, and one that will continue to maintain the forced division of Jammu Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

Thus we owe it to the memory and sacrifices of the martyrs and future generations of Kashmir to continue the freedom struggle for reunification and unfettered right to self-determination of 15 million inhabitants of their forcibly divided country.