Pakistan condemns ban on Tehreek-e-Hurriyat in IIOJK
Islamabad: Pakistan has strongly condemned the Indian authorities’ decision to declare the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir (TeH) as an “unlawful association”, for a period of five years.
Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch in a statement on Monday said banning political parties is part of India’s relentless campaign to subjugate the Kashmiri people, suppress dissent and consolidate its occupation of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. These actions, she added, blatantly violate democratic norms and international human rights and humanitarian law.
She emphasized that India must lift the ban on all political parties unlawfully outlawed in IIOJK and respect the fundamental rights and freedoms of the Kashmiri people.
The TeH is the second Kashmiri party banned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in less than a week’s time. With its banning, the total number of outlawed Kashmiri political parties increases to six, she deplored.
