In occupied Kashmir, the Joint Resistance Leadership comprising Syed Ali Gilani, Dr Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik, has expressed serious concern over the miserable plight of the Kashmiri prisoners in different jails, particularly those lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail.
The JRL in a statement issued in Srinagar said that despite being political prisoners they were denied every right guaranteed in the jail manual. It said that revengeful attitude of the rulers in Delhi had crossed every limit of heartlessness and sensitivity and they were willfully prolonging the detention of the Kashmiri prisoners through judicial victimization. The statement said that Hurriyat leaders including Shabbir Ahmad Shah, Peer Saifullah, Altaf Ahmad Shah, Aasiya Andrabi, Ayaz Akbar, Raja Merajuddin Kalwal, Nayeem Ahmad Khan, Shahid-ul-Islam, Farooq Ahmad Dar, Shahid Yousuf, Syed Shakeel Ahmed, Zahoor Ahmad Watali, Fahmeeda Sofi and Naheeda Nasreen continued to bear the brunt of this victimization for more than a year. The JRL appealed to the United Nations Human Rights Council, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and International Committee of Red Cross to take cognizance of the inhuman treatment meted out to the Kashmiri inmates.
Meanwhile, the Joint Resistance Leadership organized a protest rally at Aabi Guzar in Srinagar, today, demanding release of all Kashmiri detainees. The demonstration was attended by a large number of Hurriyat leaders and activists.
The Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party in a statement issued in Srinagar said that its illegally detained Chairman, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, was being subjected to physical and mental torture in New Delhi’s infamous Tihar Jail for advocating the right to self-determination for the Kashmiri people. It said Shabbir Shah, who is already suffering from various ailments, has been lodged in a small cell in the Kasturi ward of the jail that could lead to further deterioration of his health.
The Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Salvation Movement, Zafar Akbar Butt, addressing public meetings in different areas of Srinagar, today, expressed serious concern over rising tension between Pakistan and India at the Line of Control.
On the other hand, the occupation authorities booked three persons including Hurriyat leader and the Chairman of Islami Tanzeem-e-Azadi, Abdul Samad Inqilabi, under black law, Public Safety Act, in Bandipora district and shifted them to Kot Bhalwal Jail in Jammu. The Chairman of Hurriyat forum, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, in a statement strongly condemned the authorities’ action.
Indian police and troops arrested seven youth during cordon and search operations and nocturnal raids in different areas of Shopian district. The police also arrested a youth, Riyaz Ahmed, from Kishtwar.
In Oslo, the Executive Director of Kashmiri Scandinavian Council, Sardar Ali Shahnawaz Khan, in a statement hailed the Norwegian Prime Minister, Erna Solberg, for raising the Kashmir dispute during her official visit to India. He said Norwegian Prime Minister’s interest to help resolve the lingering dispute is a significant and commendable development.
