Srinagar: Prominent Kashmiri intellectual Dr Ghulam Abbas has been killed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), two days after his video appeared on social media in which he was seen slamming Pakistan for attacking Jammu and Kashmir in 1947 with the intention of occupying the state by force.
Abbas was shot dead by “unknown gunmen”, believed to be Pakistani intelligence operatives, when he was on a visit to his family in Kotli in Muzaffarabad from Canada where he is settled, according to reports emanating from PoK.
The deceased was a vocal critic of Pakistan and its occupation of territories of Jammu and Kashmir, for which he apparently paid the price with his life.
In his last video that emerged on June 19, Abbas is seen slamming Pakistan for sending raiders to Jammu and Kashmir in 1947 with the purpose of occupying the erstwhile princely state.
In the video, he describes how the Pakistani raiders killed people of Jammu and Kashmir, looted properties and indulged in arson in the state and created the problem that is being suffered even today.
Pakistani raiders, who included army personnel, attacked Jammu and Kashmir on October 22, 1947, when it was still being ruled by Maharaja Hari Singh. The intent was to capture the state by force as Hari Singh was undecided on whether to join India or Pakistan or to stay independent.
“This is how Pakistan, which claims to be the benefactor of Kashmiris, silences the Kashmiris, particularly those who criticize the Pakistani regime,” said a Kashmir observer.
Prof Sajjad Raja, Chairman of National Equality Party of J&K Gilgit-Baltistan, directly blamed Pakistani agencies for the killing.
“We have not fired a single shot in POJK & Gilgit Baltistan & still Pakistan is killing us. We have no freedom of expression, freedom of association and right to live,” Raja, who is leading a campaign against Pakistani occupation of PoJK and Gilgit Baltistan.
“Killers of Dr Ghulam Abbas have miscalculated our resilience, conviction, commitment, dedication & passion for our cause. Pakistani agencies have failed to achieve their objectives by killing Arif Shahid. Our struggle will not just continue it will multiply now,” he added.
