Srinagar: 1 April marks the 29th martyrdom anniversary of Shaheed-e-Hikamt, Dr. Abdul Ahad Guru, a renowned Kashmiri cardiothoracic surgeon. Dr Guru was first Kashmiri Muslim who started open heart surgery in Kashmir and wrote a new chapter in the medical history.
Dr. Guru was a member of the governing council of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) and an outspoken critic of human rights abuses by Indian occupied forces in IIOJK. He was abducted and later shot dead on 01 April 1993 by Indian armed forces. India had blamed Hizbul Mujahideen for the murder but when the matter was jointly investigated by Asia Watch and Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), Government’s version of the story came out to be absolutely false.
Amnesty International shown great concern over the killing of people who have voiced concern about human rights violations by the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir. JKLF leader Muhammad Yasin Malik said that fools who relate Kashmiri struggle for freedom with unemployment and lack of education should think over the life, struggle and martyrdom of Dr Abdul Ahad Guru.
The freedom struggle of Kashmir is represented by the blood of great intellectuals, Ulema, social leaders, teachers, lawyers, and personalities who stood firm and sacrificed their lives for freedom and self-determination. The human rights record of the Indian security forces in Kashmir has been characterized by arbitrary arrests, torture, rape and extrajudicial killings. Indian troops in their unabated acts of state terrorism, martyred 95,979 innocent Kashmiris including 7,232 in custody, widowed 22,942, orphaned 107, 859 and molested 11,250 women since January 1989. International community must take notice of dire situation in IIOJK.
The resolution of this lingering dispute is important for regional peace and security. International community must take notice of blatant Indian human rights abuses and fulfill promise made with people of Kashmir through various UNSC resolutions. 29 years on, like the families of Dr. Abdul Ahad Guru and thousands of others who became the victims of Indian state terrorism in Kashmir still await justice. India has never made public any action taken by her to investigate the killings and has never put to trail those who were responsible. Web Desk
