ISLAMABAD:In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) May 10 reminds us of the painful story of the desecration and destruction of Kashmir’s centuries-old shrine of a famous religious scholar, Sheikh Noorud Din Wali (RA) at Charar-e-Sharief in Badgam, by Indian troops.
A report released said that it was on the intervening night of May 10-11 in 1995 when Charar-i-Sharief went up in raging flames on the auspicious occasion of Eid day, to the chagrin and heartbreak of the Kashmiri people.
The Charar-e-Sharief complex included a historic mosque and hundreds of residential houses that were also destroyed by the troops during a military siege that continued for 66 days. About 1,000 houses and 200 shops in the mountainous town of Charar-e-Sharief were gutted.
The report said the incident of burning of Charar-e-Sharif shrine by Indian troops is still fresh in the memory of Kashmiris even after the passage of twenty-eight years. It said Indian troops have destroyed and desecrated hundreds of Muslim holy places in the last 34 years in the occupied territory.
The report said the burning of the Charar-e-Sharif shrine by Indian troops is one of the most tragic incidents in Kashmir’s history. It pointed out that BJP and RSS are openly hurting the religious sentiments of the Muslims across IIOJK. It said the targeting of the faith and cultural identity of the Kashmiri people by India is a clear violation of basic human norms and fundamental precepts of international law.
The report said India is applying every brutal method to suppress the Kashmiris’ freedom sentiment but will never succeed in its nefarious designs. It added that international human rights bodies must come forward to save the Kashmiri Muslims from Hindutva fascism.
Meanwhile, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference in a statement has said that desecration and damage caused to the mosque and shrine during the military siege in Charar-e-Sharief and repeated incidences of extra-judicial killings in various places in IIOJK are manifestations of the unabated Indian state terrorism to which Kashmiris are subjected in the occupied territory.