Record

 SRINAGAR, June 14: The president of Democratic Freedom Party (DFP)
Shabir Ahmad Shah has sent letters to the prime minister, Dr
Manmohan Singh and Pakistan president General Parvez Musharraf
stating that the grave of Mohammad Maqbool Butt has been desecrated
inside the premises of Tihar jail in New Delhi. He has also appealed
both the heads of government to facilitate the return of mortal
remains of Bhat.
In his letter to Dr Manmohan Singh, Shah said that it is heartening
that New Delhi has accepted the disputed nature of Kashmir issue and
it has infused hope among the people of state. But, he added, that
he has been pained after the disclosure made by a New Delhi based
Kashmiri journalist who was sentenced to a 14 month imprisonment in
a fake case to Tihar jail that the grave of Bhat has been desecrated
in the same jail.
The president of DFP expressed the hope that since a new positive
thinking is evolving the mortal remains of Butt would be handed over
to Kashmiris so that they are burried according to the religious
rituals. He added that the return of the mortal remains would help
in starting an emotional dialogue between New Delhi and Kashmiris.
In his letter to Pakistan president, Shah said that it is
encouraging that Kashmir issue has been included in the agenda of
talks between India and Pakistan, but it is a matter of grave
concern that the grave of Maqbool Butt has been desecrated in Tihar
jail.
"For the last 20 years we have been demanding that mortal remains of
Bhat be handed over to us, but our pleas have fallen on deaf ears",
writes Shah in his letter. He added that the disclosure made by
noted journalist Iftikhar Gilani, Kashmir Times bureau chief, in his
recently published book "My Days In Prison" about the damage done to
the grave of Butt has bruised the emotions of Kashmiris.
"The desecration of the grave has injured our self respect and this
act is so brute that the public resentment could deflate the whole
process of confidence building measures (CBMs). We seek your help in
retrieving the mortal remains of Maqbool Butt so that they could be
buried at Martyrs grave yard", wrote the president of DFP.

Source Daily Kashmir Times dated june 13,2005