Rehman Malik-led IRR organizes condolence reference for Syed Ali Shah Geelani

Islamabad: Rich tributes were paid to veteran Hurriyat leader and former chief of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Syed Ali Shah Geelani at a condolence reference. The condolence reference was organized by the Institute of Research and Reforms (IRR) and was presided over by former Interior Minister and Chairman IRR Senator A. Rehman Malik and attended by Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, Senator Sana Jamali, Chaudhary Iftekhar Ahmed, senior journalists, and workers of PPP.

The reference began with the recitation of the Holy Quran and the Naat of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and was followed by prayers for the departed soul of Syed Ali Shah Geelani and condolences were expressed to his family and the entire Kashmiri people.

Senator A. Rehman Malik said that Syed Ali Shah Gilani was an icon not only for the freedom fighters of Kashmir but for all the freedom fighters around the world. He said that he led Kashmir’s movement for the right to self-determination and was a staunch supporter of merging Kashmir with Pakistan. He said that the entire Pakistani nation was shocked by the death of Syed Ali Gilani and salute him for his bravery and courageous struggle against Indian oppression. He said that late Geelani stood as a leaden wall against Indian oppression all his life and bravely faced every oppression of India. Syed Ali Shah Geelani has always adhered to his principles and fought for liberation from Indian illegal confinement, he added.

Former Interior Minister said that the cowardly and tyrannical rulers of India were even afraid of the corpse of Syed Ali Gilani so they buried him in the darkness of night and his entire family was in jail. He said that it is the extreme of cruelty that Syed Ali Gilani’s family was not allowed to attend his funeral. He said that India should remember that the system of oppression cannot last long and independence is the basic right of Kashmiris which they will get soon. He said that Modi should remember that like America, India too will have to get out of Kashmir soon.

The Chairman IRR, Mr. Malik further said that Modi has turned the entire Kashmir Valley into a prison and torture cell but the international community, including the United Nations and the OIC, have turned their eyes blind. He said that today we have to think about what our governments since 1947 have done for Kashmir as we have been playing on India’s pitch since day one. He stressed that the government should immediately go to the International Criminal Court against Indian Forces and PM Narendra Modi for their crimes against humanity.

Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed while addressing the reference said that Syed Ali Shah Geelani was the greatest advocate of accession of Kashmir to Pakistan and he always raised this slogan. He said that for Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the goal of independence of Kashmir was its accession to Pakistan. He said that Syed Ali Geelani had dedicated his entire life to the right to self-determination and he endured every kind of atrocity in this struggle. He said that it is never possible to suppress the independence movement by force and the time is not far when Kashmir will be freed from the illegal occupation of India. He said that when Pakistan tested its atomic bomb in 1998, Syed Ali Gilani publicly celebrated it. H said that he was the bravest man and also his family as his niece Asiya Andrabi has been in jail for ten years and his entire family is engaged in the struggle for independence.

Senator Sana Jamali said that Syed Ali Gilani was a hero not only of Kashmir but of the whole of Pakistan. She said that he gave the slogan to the youth that we are Pakistanis and Pakistan is ours. She said that Syed Ali Geelani’s slogan will continue to echo till the independence of Kashmir which is not far away.

Senior journalist Tahir Khalil and PPP’s leader Chaudhary Ifthekar Ahmed also addressed the conference and paid rich tribute to Syed Ali Geelani.