The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) organized a Kashmir Martyrs' Conference at Upper Adda, Lal Chowk, Muzaffarabad, in connection with Kashmir Martyrs' Day to pay tribute to the martyrs of July 13, 1931.  The conference was jointly chaired by Acting President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Chaudhry Latif Akbar and APHC Convener Ghulam Muhammad Safi.  Among those present were Secretary Kashmir Cause Syed Shahid Mohiuddin.

AJK Prime Minister's Spokesperson Shaukat Javed Mir, APHC Secretary General Parvaiz Ahmad Shah Advocate, Liberation Cell Director Raja Sajjad Khan, Sardar Sajid Mahmood, Refugees Representative Forum leader Ghulam Hassan Butt, Sheikh Jameel-ur-Rehman, Sheikh Yaqoob, Al-Mustafa Welfare Society President Ateeq Kiani, Uzma Shireen Advocate, Hurriyat leader Mushtaq-ul-Islam, Nishat Butt and a large number of people. 

The participants paid glowing tributes to the 22 martyrs of July 13, 1931, for their sacrifices.  Addressing the gathering, the speakers said that on July 13, 1931, twenty-two young Kashmiris embraced martyrdom while completing the Azan, laying the foundation of the Kashmir freedom movement. They said the day holds historic significance as it infused a new spirit into the ongoing struggle for freedom.

They pledged to carry forward the mission of the martyrs and continue the struggle for the cause for which they sacrificed their lives.  The speakers said the Kashmir freedom movement was their red line and that a strong Pakistan was the guarantor of the Kashmiris' freedom struggle. They said Kashmiris were striving for the completion of Pakistan, adding that Kashmir's bond with Pakistan was eternal and based on the common faith. They reiterated that Kashmiris' destination was Pakistan and vowed to continue the struggle until the entire Jammu and Kashmir became part of Pakistan. 

They said the people of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir had kept the freedom movement alive despite Indian oppression and would continue their struggle until the territory was liberated.  The participants also renewed their pledge that the sacrifices rendered for the Kashmir freedom movement would not go in vain and that they would continue their struggle until Jammu and Kashmir's accession to Pakistan. 

The speakers also appreciated the victory of the Pakistan Army in Marka-e-Haq and Pakistan's successful diplomacy during the Iran-US conflict, lauding the role of Field Marshal General Syed Asim Munir and the country's political leadership. They said the entire Kashmiri nation stood with Pakistan and its armed forces, adding that Pakistan had always supported the Kashmiris' right to self-determination and stood by them in every difficult time. They vowed to foil every conspiracy against Pakistan. 

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)