DALLAS: Rich tributes were paid to Kashmiri leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani by the speakers at a convention of Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) in Dallas, Texas.
Geelani, whose well-known statement, “We are Kashmiris and Pakistan is our country,” inspired millions, passed away three years back on September 1, 2021, in Srinagar following a protracted house arrest.
Speakers said that Geelani was as an “incorruptible and conscientious” Kashmiri leader who valiantly struggled for the rights of oppressed people of Indian Occupied Kashmir.
“Syed Ali Geelani presented Kashmir not as a separatist movement but as a legitimate struggle for self-determination,” Dr. Farhan Chak, a Canadian-Kashmir scholar who spoke on the situation in the disputed Kashmir region.
Dr. Chak said that Ali Geelani underscored that the nature of resistance necessitates fearlessness even in the face of death.
More than anyone else, he said, the Kashmiri leader displayed exemplary courage when in the heart of New Delhi, he called out Indian atrocities regardless of death threats, he said.
Other speakers included, Imam Nur Abdullah of Sudan, former President of ISNA and Sardar Israr Ayub from Azad Kashmir.
The event was moderated by a distinguished American scholar of Kashmiri Origin, Professor Faizan Haq of Buffalo State University, New York.
President of the World Kashmir Awareness Forum and Chairman, Kashmir Diaspora Coalition, Dr. Ghulam N. Mir, said, “No political leader in the last 50 years matched his personal integrity and strength of character as Sayed Ali Geelani.”
” Indian leaders used all types of temptations, and also threat of torture to dissuade him from following his path of resistance to the occupation and settler colonialism over Jammu and Kashmir,” Mir said.
“Their massive military presence and administrative machine in the occupied territory did not deter Geelani Saheb from facing them off.
Secretary-General of the World Kashmir Awareness Forum Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai said Ali Geelani was a “scholar, intellectual, prolific writer and above all an incorruptible and conscientious leader of Kashmiri political resistance movement.”
Dr. Fai added that Ali Geelani always stood for the religious, cultural and social rights of the minorities, citing his 2009 press interview in which he said that that in an Islamic system, their rights were protected.
“Geelani Sahib’s approach towards the solution of Kashmir was realistic and practical: When asked whether he will support an independent Kashmir? Geelani Sahib responded, “According to UN resolutions, there are only two options — India and Pakistan. However, if all the three concerned parties i.e., Pakistan, India and pro-freedom leadership of Kashmir come to consensus that Kashmir should become Independent as it existed on August 14, 1947, we would accept this solution also,” Dr. Fai explained.
Kashmiri-American scholar Dr. Imtiaz Khan called Ali Gilani as an “illustrious and undisputed” leader of Kashmiri people. “As the saying goes ‘some people are born great, some achieve greatness by dint of their ability and hard work, while some have greatness thrust on them’. Ali Geelani, he said, belonged to the second category.
In the path of “struggle for freedom” he never wavered from his noble stand, nor did he give in to torture, isolation and enticement of power., Dr. Khan said. He said Geelani stood like the “rock of Gibraltar” for the rights of Kashmiri people.
While Indian establishment left no stone unturned to paint him as fundamentalist and hate monger, the saner elements within the country construed it as sinister attempt of character assassination, citing various example reflecting Dr. Khan said as he cited examples of his humane nature. Being a devout follower of Islam, he operated from a high moral pedestal.
On the occasion of third anniversary of Syed Ali Shah Geelani yesterday, Pakistani leadership including President Asif Ali Zardari also paid tribute to the iconic Kashmiri leader for his fight for the rights of the oppressed people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
They said that Kashmiri leader was a beacon of hope and resistance, inspiring countless Kashmiris to stand firm in their quest for self-determination.
“His tireless efforts and sacrifices for the just cause of the Kashmiri people will forever be etched in our hearts and minds,” President Zardari said in his message adding that he was a great leader and his commitment to the right to self-determination for the people of IIOJK was unyielding.
