In Indian Illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, complete shutdown is being observed today to mark the martyrdom anniversary of Kashmiri leader, Muhammad Maqbool Butt.

Muhammad Maqbool Butt was hanged by India in New Delhi's Tihar Jail on 11th February in 1984 for his role in Kashmir freedom movement.

Paying rich tributes to Muhammad Maqbool Butt, All Parties Hurriyat Conference and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front in their separate statements in Srinagar said his martyrdom infused a new spirit in freedom movement of Kashmir.

The APHC leaders said Kashmiri people will not allow the sacrifices of their martyrs to go waste and will accomplish their mission of freedom from India at all costs.

Meanwhile, Indian Army and police had asked the shopkeepers to keep their shops open and warned them that their outlets will be sealed if they did not obey the order.

However, despite the threat, shopkeepers in most parts of the Valley observed shutdown to remember their martyred leader.

The movement of traffic on the roads was also very thin. The occupation authorities deployed Indian troops and police personnel in strength across the Kashmir Valley to prevent people from staging anti-India demonstrations.

Meanwhile, illegally detained APHC Chairman, Masarrat Aalam Butt, and other Hurriyat leaders paying rich tributes to Muhammad Maqbool Butt reiterated the Kashmiris’ resolve to accomplish the mission of their martyrs at all costs.

Masarrat Aalam Butt in a message sent from Tihar Jail said the Kashmiri people are duty-bound to safeguard the sacrifices of Muhammad Maqbool Butt and other martyrs by taking their mission to its logical conclusion.

Incarcerated senior APHC leader, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, in his message from Tihar Jail maintained that the Kashmiris will not allow the blood of their martyrs including Muhammad Maqbool Butt to go waste and will continue their struggle till they achieve freedom from Indian yoke.

On the other hand, people held protest demonstrations in Srinagar, Bandipora and Jammu areas against the ongoing evictions being carried out by the authorities in the name of anti-encroachment drive, which is actually aimed at grabbing the land and properties of the Muslims and rendering them homeless.

Source: Radio Pakistan