Kashmir Martyrs Day: A Cornerstone In The Kashmiris' Ongoing Struggle: Wani

MIRPUR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Jul, 2025) Veteran Kashmir freedom struggle leader and senior vice chairman of the Jammu Kashmir National Front Altaf Hussain Wani has said that the historic movement that kicked off following the martyrdom of 22 Kashmiris serves as a cornerstone of the ongoing struggle for the right to self-determination.

"By sacrificing their precious lives one after the other, these martyrs ignited a movement that continues to inspire generation after generation of those who believe in freedom, justice, and equality," Wani said in his special statement issued here on Saturday on the eve of Kashmir Martyrs' Day, falling on Sunday, July 13.

Terming the ongoing struggle in Kashmir as an extension of the 1931 movement, which was launched against the despotic Maharaja, Wani said, 'From 1931 till today, more than half a million Kashmiris have offered sacrifices to achieve the cherished goal of freedom”.

Wani also deplored the Indian government's move to impose sanctions on observing the martyrs day and its decision to prevent people from visiting the martyrs' graveyard.

Such actions, he said, were a vivid reflection of the Indian government's majoritarian and authoritarian mindset that seeks to crush every dissenting voice and opinion and erase the collective memory of people.

Terming it as a significant day in Kashmir's contemporary history, Wani said that such repressive measures could neither deter Kashmiris from observing the historic day nor change the region's history, marked by numerous incidents of bravery and resilience.

Reiterating Kashmiris' pledge to uphold the martyrs’ mission, he said the struggle for the right to self-determination would continue unless and until Kashmiris get their cherished goal.

Citing the Pahalgam incident that had brought India and Pakistan to the brink of a war with catastrophic consequences, the National Front leader urged the world to take effective notice of the dangerous dimensions of the dispute and play its much-needed role to help Kashmiris in shaping up their political destiny in accordance with the universally accepted principle of the right to self-determination.

APP/ahr/378