Strike in IIOJK to mourn Sehrai’s custodial killing
Srinagar, May 06 (KMS): In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, complete strike was observed all across the territory, today, to mourn the custodial killing of senior APHC leader and Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Chairman, Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai in Jammu’s Udhampur jail.
Call for the strike was given by the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Hurriyat forum led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and other Hurriyat leaders and organizations. Funeral prayers and dua majalis were held in Nowgam, Hyderpora, Barzulla, Nowakadal in Srinagar and other areas of the valley despite curfew and restrictions. Several Hurriyat leaders and activists were arrested by Indian police in Srinagar, Islamabad, Pulwama and other areas to prevent them from attending funeral prayers. In Kupwara areas, strict curfew was imposed to stop pro-freedom protests and to express solidarity with Sehrai’s family in Lolab. The funerals were organized by Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Justice Party, Political Resistance Movement, Jammu and Kashmir Social Youth Forum and other Hurriyat organizations. Hurriyat leaders and activists including Muhammad Ashraf Laya, Bashir Qurashi, Rafiq Owais and Nisar Hussain Rather addressed the mourners.
Earlier, Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai was laid to rest amid tight military siege in his ancestral village Tekipora in Lolab area of Kupwara. His dead body was brought in police custody from Jammu to his native village. On the occasion, the electricity in the village was completely cut off, plunging the area in total darkness. A small number of people were allowed to have the last glimpse of septuagenarian leader.
The All Parties Hurriyat Conference in a statement issued in Srinagar, today, appealed to the people to continue to offer funerals in absentia and hold prayer sessions for the beloved Hurriyat leader all across IIOJK and the world over. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Grand Mufti of Kashmir, Mufti Nasirul Islam have called for removing the restrictions on them to enable them lead prayer sessions for Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai.
Meanwhile, statements to pay rich tributes to Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai continued to pour in describing him as the pioneer of Kashmir freedom movement. Among those who issued the statements include Molvi Bashir Ahmad, Ghulam Muhammad Khan Sopori, Shabbir Ahmad Dar, Bilal Siddiqu, Mir Shahid Saleem, Bilal Ghani Lone, Hakeem Abdur Rasheed, Imtiaz Reshi, Abdul Samad Inqilabi, Zamrooda Habib.
