Srinagar, February 11, 2020 (PPI-OT):In occupied Kashmir, complete shutdown was observed, today, to mark the 36th martyrdom anniversary of prominent Kashmiri liberation leader, Muhammad Maqbool Butt. Call for the strike was given by the All Parties Hurriyat Conference Chairman, Syed Ali Gilani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq-led Hurriyat forum, the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front and other pro-freedom leaders and organizations. Maqbool Butt was hanged in New Delhi’s Tihar jail on this day in 1984 for his active role in pro-freedom activities and was buried in the jail premises.
Indian authorities imposed strict restrictions to prevent anti-India protests. The troops were deployed at all entry and exit points while the roads were blocked with barricades. Scores of women and children defying curfew and other restrictions assembled in Trehgam area of Kapwara district, the hometown of Muhammad Maqbool Butt, and staged anti-India protests.
Shahmali Begum, the mother of Shaheed Maqbool Butt, led the protesters. Several people were injured when the troops opened fire on protesters. Many were arrested by the troops on the occasion. A JKLF spokesman in a statement in Srinagar said that the participants of the protest rally demanded the release of all illegally detained Kashmiri leaders and activists including Muhammad Yasin Malik, Farooq Dar and Zahoor Ahmad Butt.
Rallies and functions were also held in different areas of Azad Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan, Islamabad and capitals of some European countries including Brussels and London to pay tributes to Muhammad Maqbool Butt. Meanwhile, normal life continued to remain paralyzed in the Kashmir Valley due to the military lockdown and suspension of internet on 191st consecutive day, today.
People staged a protest demonstration in Srinagar against the killing of a Kashmiri young boy, Basit Khan, by Hindu terrorists in India. The protesting youth demanded stern punishment to the killers. The 18-year orphan boy, Basit Khan, was ruthlessly beaten to death by Hindu goons in Jaipur, last week.
Indian police arrested a youth identified as Rustum Ali during a house raid in Dool-Nagsini area of Kishtwar district in Jammu region. Indian media reported that Russia has declined the invitation by India to be a part of the fresh batch of selected foreign envoys who will be sent to occupied Kashmir, this week. Nikolay Kudashev, the Russian Ambassador to India, informed Indian diplomats, today, that he would not be a part of the 25-member team visiting the territory.
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