Geelani, Mirwaiz pay tributes to youth killed in Pulwama gunfight

Srinagar: Both factions of Hurriyat Conference, headed by Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, on Monday paid tributes to three youths killed in an encounter with government forces in Pulwama district of south Kashmir.
In a statement, Geelani said India and its ‘stooges’ were directly responsible for the killing of youth in Kashmir.
He said youth are sacrificing their precious lives for a greater cause to serve nation and “we are duty bound to carry their mission to its logical conclusion”.
Blaming India’s “stubbornness” approach for continuous bloodshed in state, Geelani said: “We are a peaceful nation and frequent incidents of encounters resulting into killing of our youth, is a matter of serious concern to us.”
Geelani said that decades have passed since the Kashmir’s occupation by India but the dispute remains unresolved.
While stressing its resolution through right to self-determination, Geelani said that India and international community has accepted its “disputed” nature.
“We have sacrificed 6 lakh souls for its resolution and even now youth are laying their lives for its settlement,” said Geelani.
He called to safeguard these sacrifices and appealed to boycott upcoming elections.
Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman paid rich tributes to Manzoor Ahmed Baba and Farden Ahmed Khanday, two of the slain youth, stating that they were sacrificing the lives for a great and sacred mission.
“It’s time for people of Kashmir to remain steadfast and to safeguard these sacrifices,” said a spokesman of the amalgam in a statement.
He said that it was because of continuous oppression and iron fist policy of the government of India and its local “collaborators here” that the young boys are pushed into picking up arms as a means of resistance.
The Hurriyat Conference (M) said peace won’t prevail in Kashmir until Government of India takes serious steps to resolve the issue as per the aspirations of the people of J&K.
The Hurriyat Conference (M) strongly condemned the use of brute force which include live bullets, pellets, on the unarmed protestors and imposing strict curbs in dozens of Pulwama villages terming it as highly deplorable.
“Military might can’t suppress the genuine dissent as time is witness that use of force has failed to crush the genuine movements across the world.”