NA pays tributes to valiant struggle of Syed Ali Geelani

The National Assembly (NA) session on Friday paid tributes to the valiant struggle of veteran Kashmiri leader Syed Ali Geelani for the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people, Radio Pakistan reported on Friday.

Appreciating the efforts and struggle of the late Kashmiri leader, the NA unanimously passed a resolution in this regard, moved by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan.

The resolution recognised Geelani devoted all his life to the freedom movement and always raised his voice for the rights of oppressed Kashmiri people and against the Indian atrocities.

UNGA should ask India to allow Geelani's body to be buried where he desired: Akram

It stated that he gave further impetus to the freedom movement by facing all sorts of oppression including incarceration.

The house noted that the famous words of Syed Ali Gilani that ‘Hum Hain Pakistani Aur Pakistan Hamara Hai (We are Pakistani and Pakistan is ours) became a unanimous slogan of Kashmiri nation. His life is a beacon of light for the Kashmiri youth.

The NA strongly condemned the repressive Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) regime, for snatching and forceful burial of Geelani's body, and registration of fake cases against his family. It demanded of the international community, especially the Muslim Ummah, to stop India from such cheap tactics.

The house expressed the confidence that the Kashmiri people will succeed in their just struggle for the right to self-determination.

The house members also offered Fateha for the departed souls of Syed Ali Gilani and Balochistan’s former chief minister Sardar Ataullah Mengal.

The house has now been adjourned to meet again on Monday at 5 pm.

Geelani's death

Geelani, an uncompromising campaigner against Indian rule, died last month at the age of 92 following a long illness.

He was one of the most outspoken critics of the Indian Occupation of Jammu and Kashmir, having spent several years in jail or under house arrest.

The sad demise of iconic freedom fighter was mourned all over the world, and earned India severe condemnation for the way it went about to bury his body. Prime Minister Imran Khan also condemned the Indian government, tweeting that it is just another shameful example of India's descent into fascism under the Nazi-inspired RSS-BJP government.

FO condemnation

Pakistan’s Foreign Office had also condemned New Delhi's act of registration of cases against the grieving family members of the iconic Kashmiri leader.

"After denying the family the right to bury Syed Ali Shah Geelani as per his will, the Indian Occupation Forces have further resorted to harassing the family of Syed Ali Shah Geelani by registering cases against them on trumped-up charges," the FO had said in a statement.

Geelani and India hated each other

It stated that India’s mistreatment of Geelani’s family is part of its agenda to force Kashmiris to prevent them from demanding the exercise of their inalienable right to self-determination, but it will never succeed, adding that "the resolve of the Kashmiri people is getting strengthened with the passing of every day."

The FO asked the international community to take serious note of this unprecedented repression, and the persisting systematic human rights violations in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and hold India to account for its inhumane, unjust, and illegal actions.