Daily Times

Jammu and Kashmir People’s Freedom League Chairman and ex-Convener All Parties Hurriyat Conference AJ&K, Muhammad Farooq Rehmani, has praised Chief of Army Staff COAS General Syed Asim Muneer’s statement in which he reiterated Pakistan’s strong support for the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their fight for self-determination and pledge to safeguard Pakistan’s sovereignty at all costs.

In light of the army chief’s reassurance, Muhammad Farooq Rehmani expressed hope that the government will take all necessary international measures to thwart Indian attempts to alter the Muslim majority character of Jammu and Kashmir and seek practical assistance for implementing the UNCIP resolutions on Kashmir.

On the International Day of Labourers, Muhammad Farooq Rehmani also commemorated the sacrifices of the forgotten working class of Kashmiri Shalbafs (weavers). He recounted how at least 26 labourers were brutally repressed and tortured to death on April 29, 1865, for raising their voice and demanding wages for their work. Sheikh Gh. Rasool and Ali Baba were tortured to death inside the Shergarhi Palace Srinagar, while about 100 shalbaf labourers received serious injuries, and others, including Kuda Lal and Sona Shah as sympathizers, were imprisoned in the Baho Fort of Jammu. Muhammad Farooq Rehmani highlighted that the Shicago riots of workers for their fair working conditions are similar to the 1886 episode, but the comparable working-class tragedy has been neglected.

He emphasized that, as the oppressed people of Kashmir, they equally commemorate both tragic events and urged the international community and the trade union movement to mark April 29, 1865 as an international day to remember the tragic conditions of Kashmiri laborers, peasants, and workers, that they were facing in the 18th and 19th centuries.