Today marks the 9th martyrdom anniversary of Kashmiri son of the land, Muhammad Afzal Guru, in the unlawfully seized state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The unjustly incarcerated All Parties Hurriyat Conference Chairman, Masarrat Aalam Butt, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front have all called for a shutdown.
All shops and businesses are near together, and traffic is light. The shutdown is intended to advocate for the return of the mortal remains of Muhammad Afzal Guru and famous Kashmiri liberation activist, Muhammad Maqbool Butt, from New Delhi’s Tihar Jail to occupied Kashmir for a proper burial.
For their key roles in the Kashmir liberation movement, India hanged Muhammad Afzal Guru in New Delhi’s Tihar Jail on February 9, 2013, and Muhammad Maqbool Butt in the same jail on February 11, 1984. Their remains are still buried on the prison grounds.
Since 5 August 2019, the occupation authorities have kept the Kashmir Valley under military and police siege, and have deployed a large number of Indian troops and police personnel to prevent people from protesting against the hangings of Afzal Guru and Maqbool Butt, as well as ongoing Indian state terrorism in the occupied territory.