Srinagar, July 13:(KNS)   Apni Party President Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari on Tuesday paid rich tributes to the martyrs of 13th July, 1931 who according to him were the first torch bearers for establishing democracy in this region.

In a statement issued to KNS, Bukhari said that the martyrs of 13th July were the pioneers who without bothering for the consequences raised their voice against the autocratic regime in order to establish a democratic set up in Jammu and Kashmir.

“These great unarmed men laid their lives for a sacred cause and sparked a movement for establishing a democratic system whereby the people are masters of their fate,” he said, while censuring the government for not allowing the Party leaders to pay floral tributes at the Martyrs’ graveyard in Khwaja Bazar Nowhatta-Srinagar.

Bukhari said that the contribution of Martyrs of July 13, 1931 in upholding the flambeau for rule of the people is immense and will be counted among the early struggles of the 20th century for putting an end to autocratic regimes across the globe.(KNS)