Srinagar 25 October (KNB): All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) on Tuesday expressed deep sorrow and grief over the demise of veteran Hurriyat Executive Member, it’s former chairman, and leading religious scholar of JK, Moulana Muhammad Abbas Ansari who passed away this morning.
In a statement issued to news agency Kashmir News Bureau(KNB) APHC said, “Throughout his life he resolutely and unyieldingly advocated resolution of the Kashmir conflict in accordance with the aspirations of its people, and made personal sacrifices for his political stand, as he was jailed several times and spend years in jail in the course of people movement for resolution of the conflict”.
“His belief that the resolution could be attained through peaceful means became evident during the regime of (Pakistan President) Pervez Musharraf and (Indian Prime Minister) late Atal Bihari Vajpayee, when he proactively championed the All Parties Hurriyat Conference’s stand that the Kashmir dispute be solved through dialogue and negotiations with India and Pakistan”.
“Since it’s creation in 1993 he made regular efforts to make Hurriyat Conference a unified and strong platform for representing peoples will and continued with his efforts when he was elected as the chairman of Hurriyat in 2003. Before that the late leader played a pivotal role in the mau -e -muqadas movement in 1963,”. the statement said
Paying glorious tributes to Moulana Abbas Ansari for his long and principled political career, APHC chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who is under house detention for pursuing that principled stand, recalled the great contribution of late Abbas sahab to the peoples movement and his role in strengthening the platform of All Parties Hurriyat Conference. As its first chairman in 1993, Maulana Ansari guided the young Mirwaiz like a father figure and in their association of last 30 years shared an affectionate bond with him, the statement further added .
Recalling Moulana Ansari’s historic journey to Casablanca (Morocco) in 1994 with him, on the special invitation from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Mirwaiz said that the late leader very ably discharged his duties as the spokesperson of Kashmiri people at the world forum.
APHC chairman expressed deep sadness that due to his continued incarceration he could not attend the nimaz e jinaza of his dear colleague and companion of three decades, nor was he able to offer condolence in person to the bereaved family, statement said.
APHC said that with the demise of Moulana Ansari, an era has truly come to an end and it is not possible to fill the void created by his passing away in the political and religious circles of JK.
Hurriyat Conference expresses heartfelt condolence and sympathy with the family of the deceased, including Hurriyat Executive Member Moulana Muhammad Masroor Abbas Ansari and Nasir Abbas Ansari, and prays for Jannat-ul-Firdous to the departed soul besides strength to the bereaved family to bear the irreparable loss, statement said
Meanwhile, statement further said that “APHC strongly condemned the authorities decision not to allow the large number of people assembled for the late leaders nimaz e jinaza at Eidgah, to go ahead with it. Authorities instead directed people to the offer funeral prayers locally at alamgari bazar, once again hurting peoples sentiments and displaying their authoritarian outlook even times of grief,” the statement further said(KNB)