Islamabad, September 02, 2021 (PPI-OT):Pakistan is observing official mourning, today, over the passing away of the veteran Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Gilani in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
The announcement for the official mourning was made by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Imran Khan in a tweet said: “Deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Kashmiri freedom fighter Syed Ali Geelani who struggled all his life for his people and their right to self-determination. He suffered incarceration and torture by the occupying Indian state but remained resolute.”
He further wrote in a tweet: “We in Pakistan salute his courageous struggle and remember his words: ‘Hum Pakistani hain aur Pakistan Humara hai’. The Pakistan flag will fly at half-mast and we will observe a day of official mourning.”
Syed Ali Gilani, passed away, last night at his Hyderpora residence in Srinagar after prolonged illness. He was 92. Syed Ali Gilani remained under house arrest for the most of the past decade.
President Arif Alvi also expressed grief and sorrow over the demise of Syed Ali Gilani. In a statement, he said that with the death of Syed Ali Gilani Kashmir has lost a great leader.
The premier said that Geelani suffered incarceration and torture by the occupying Indian state but remained resolute. “We in Pakistan salute his courageous struggle and remember his words: ‘Hum Pakistani hain aur Pakistan Humara hai‘,” he wrote in another tweet.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa also expressed his grief on the sad demise of Kashmiri leader, terming Geelani an icon of Kashmir’s freedom movement.
“His lifelong sacrifices and ceaseless struggle symbolises indomitable resolve of Kashmiris against Indian occupation. His dream and his mission will live on until People of IIOJ and K win their right of self-determination,” the army chief was quoted as saying by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that Geelani fought for the rights of Kashmiris till the very end.
“Pakistan mourns the loss of Syed Ali Shah Geelani, torchbearer of the Kashmir freedom movement. Shah Sb fought for the rights of Kashmiris till the very end, under house arrest of Indian occupation. May he rest in peace and may his dream of freedom come true,” Qureshi wrote on Twitter.
Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi tweeted that Geelani dedicated his life for the freedom of Kashmir. Former chief minister Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) Mehbooba Mufti expressed her sadness over the passing of Geelani.
“We may not have agreed on most things but I respect him for his steadfastness and standing by his beliefs. May Allah Ta’aala grant him jannat and condolences to his family and well-wishers,” she wrote on her Twitter handle. Other members of the government including Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry and Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed also paid their tribute to the veteran Kashmiri leader.
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