WASHINGTON, Aug 31 (APP):The head of a Kashmir advocacy group has paid tributes to Syed Ali Geelani, the iconic and the most recognizable Kashmiri leader, who passed away a year ago, saying he stood firm for the exercise by the Kashmiri people of their UN-pledged right to self-determination.
“Geelani sahib was a symbol of defiance, and breathed his last while under Indian custody in occupied Kashmir,” Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Chairman of the Washington-based World Forum for Peace and Justice, said in a statement on Tuesday.
He said that Geelani sahib was an “honest and sincere” leader who never compromised on his principles, and cited several examples.
When President Pervez Musharraf suggested to sideline the UN Security Council resolutions on Kashmir to explore an out-of-box solution, and proposed a four-point formula, Fai said that Geelani Sahib rejected the formula, saying it was against the basic principle of the right to self-determination.
Kashmir’s suffering is a rebuke to the United Nations for its inaction, Fai added. “The situation is a call on the conscience of the members of the Security Council, particularly to the United States.”
“With the passing of Geelani Sahib, a leader par excellence, who was also a symbol of humanity and champion of human rights all over the world, be it Palestine, Myanmar, Chechnya, Kashmir or else, it is an end of an era,” Fai said.
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