Islamabad, 02 Sept 2021
Pakistanis mourn death of Kashmiri revolutionary leader Syed Ali Geelani, 92 and flag of Pakistan is half past on Thursday and declared official mourning.
He had been sick since several months and having heart and kidney problems.
Paying tribute to the great son of the soil, a statement from Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs calling him a 'true voice and hero of the Kashmiris' struggle for self-determination'.
Official Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said that government and the people of Pakistan deeply mourned 'the passing away of the iconic leader of the Kashmiri resistance'.
The nation pays rich tribute to his life-long struggle for justice and freedom, he said.
"[Geelani] inspired three generations of Kashmiris in resisting illegal Indian occupation and unabated tyranny. He was a true voice and hero of the Kashmiris’ struggle for self-determination, who never lost his ideological moorings for a single moment," the FO spokesperson said.
"May he continue to be an inspiration for those carrying his mission forward to bring an end to the illegal Indian occupation of Jammu and Kashmir," he added.
Pakistani spokesperson strongly condemned the "barbaric act of snatching [Geelani's] mortal remains" by Indian occupation forces. "As the family was preparing for the last rites, a heavy contingent of occupation forces raided his residence in Srinagar, harassed family members and snatched Geelani’s body.
"When the family members told the raiding party that Geelani’s will was to be buried in the Cemetery of Martyrs in Srinagar, they were reportedly told that India would not allow Geelani’s burial at the place of his choosing," the FO spokesperson said.
Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) authorities imposed a lockdown across the IOK and except very close relatives no one was allowed to attend the funeral ceremony of 92 year old late leader. The funeral took place pre=dawn this morning of Thursday in a tight security attended by is two sons a few near relatives.
Thousands of police personnel were deployed near his residence and across the valley soon after his death yesterday.
The outspoken critic on Indian illegal occupation of Kashmir has spent several years in jail / under house arrest, had shown his wish to be buried at the Martyrs Cemetery in Srinagar, however, authorities rejected that request, as per media source.
It is learned that Troops are everywhere, and every main road is blocked by barbed wire.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in his tweet paid his tributes to Geelani, saying he was “deeply saddened” at the death of the “Kashmiri freedom fighter” who had been under house arrest for most of the past 11 years.
Syed Ali Geelani deeply believed and always said 'Hum Pakistani hain aur Pakistan Humara hai ' (We, the Kashmiris are Pakistani ' and Pakistan is our'.
.Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir is the world's most militarised zone, with 800,000 Indian security forces deployed in the region. Tens of thousands of innocent civilians have died since it's occupation on 27 October 1947. There are several UN Security Council resolutions to conduct plebiscite to decide by the Kashmiris to join either Muslim populated Pakistan or India, first ever time in history ruled by majority Hindu community since 15th of August 1947.
Disclaimer: Asian Telegraph Qatar do not accept any responsibility for any comment posted on our website. Any comment does not necessarily represent the views of the Asian Telegraph Qatar, unless where specifically stated otherwise. We reserve the right to unpublish, or delete parts or the entirety of any comments that deemed to be non-conducive to the discussion.