APHC-AJK draws OIC chief’s attention towards plight of Kashmiri detainees in jails
Islamabad: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference-AJK chapter has issued an urgent appeal to Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Hissein Brahim Taha, inviting his attention towards the unjust treatment faced by Kashmiri detainees in Indian jails.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Mehmood Ahmed Saghar, Convener of the APHC-AJK chapter , penned a letter to the OIC headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, expressing grave concerns over the deteriorating conditions endured by Kashmiri detainees. The letter emphasized the wrongful imprisonment of individuals who have been implicated in politically motivated cases, suffering under India’s oppressive regime.
Saghar highlighted the challenges faced by Kashmiri prisoners, including political activists, journalists, and civil society members, who have been arrested and detained under draconian laws such as the Public Safety Act (PSA) and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
The appeal underscored the misuse of so-called anti-terrorism laws and the manipulation of the judiciary to suppress Kashmiri voices advocating for a peaceful resolution to the Kashmir dispute. The APHC stressed the urgent need for international intervention to address what it termed as “judicial terrorism” against Kashmiri detainees.
The text of the letter as follows:
His Excellency,
Hissein Brahim Taha
Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
OIC headquarters
Jeddah KSA
Subject: Plight of Kashmiris detainees languishing in Indian jails
Excellency,
With reference to the subject cited above, I wish to seek your urgent attention towards the plight of Kashmiri prisoners who have been falsely implicated in politically motivated cases and left to rot in far-off prisons.
Excellency,
Life for the Kashmiri prisoners, lodged in different jails in and outside Kashmir, is getting tougher and tougher with each passing day. These prisoners, who spent their entire lives for advocating peaceful settlement of Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UNSC resolutions, are being branded as traitors and treated like criminals because of their political beliefs.
They are being penalized and punished merely for their work and raising their voice for the voiceless Kashmiris who continue to reel under India’s belligerent military occupation.
Excellency,
The continued and illegal detention of the Kashmiri political and civil society activists, which unfortunately goes unnoticed at the international level, is a matter of serious concern.
It is worth recalling here that thousands of Kashmiris, including pro-freedom leaders, rights activists, journalists, lawyers and businessmen, who have been arrested before and after 5th August 2019, continue to languish in the Indian prisons.
Excellency,
It is quite unfortunately that the Indian government has been using judiciary as a tool to crush the legitimate Kashmiri voices.
Booking and detaining political activists under antiterrorism laws has become a new normal in Kashmir.
Along with civil rights activists, top tier leadership of Hurriyat Conference including Muhammad Yasin Malik, Shabir Ahmed Shah, Masrat Aalam Bhat, Nayeem Ahmed Khan, Asiya Andrabi, Dr. Qasim Faktoo, Naheeda Nasreen, Fehmeeda Sufi, Ayaz Akbar, Pir Saifullah, Merajuddin Kalwal, Shahid-ul-Islam, Farooq Ahmed Dar, Syed Shahid Yousuf Shah, Syed Shakeel Yousuf Shah, Bilal Siddiqi, Molvi Bashir Irfani, Mushtaq-ul-Islam, Ameer Hamza, DrHameed Fayaz, Abdul Ahmad Parra, Hayat Ahmed Butt, Rafiq Ahmed Shah, Advocate Zahid Ali, Zaffar Akbar Butt, Muhammad Yousuf Falahi, Dr Muhammad Shafi Shariati, Ghulam Qadir Butt, Rafiq Ahmad Ganai, human rights defender Khurrum Parvaiz and several others have been arrested and under booked under sedition laws such as black laws PSA and UAPA.
A court in New Delhi has recently sentenced prominent Kashmiri pro-freedom leader Yasin Malik to life term in a politically motivated case.
There is a fear that the Indian government would apply the same tactics to eliminate other Kashmiri voices who openly challenge the Indian contention on Kashmir and refuse to take Indian diktats.
Excellency,
Misuse of anti terror laws and use of judiciary as a weapon to suppress Kashmiri voices by the Indian government has instilled a fear of insecurity amongst the Kashmiris. These laws, fraught with serious political ramifications, are seen as a conspiracy to deprive Kashmiris of their political voice and enable complete silence in Kashmir.
Excellency,
These policies of oppression and suppression marked by a callous indifference to human life and fundamental freedoms constitute a grave existential threat to the people of Kashmir.
Sadly, the India’s present day government feels no remorse in using judiciary and other repressive state apparatus to achieve its political objectives.
Ruthless persecution of the Kashmiri prisoners and handing down capital punishments to Kashmiris in manifestly dubious and politically motivated cases is nothing more than a textbook example of “judicial terrorism”.
Excellency,
The All Parties Hurriyat Conference appeals your Excellency to take effective cognisance of this judicial terrorism against Kashmiri prisoners.
Your personal intervention in this matter could help save the lives of Kashmiri prisoners who are at the risk of losing their lives at the hands of India’s biased judiciary.
Excellency,
The APHC believes that no individual or state should be above the international law. And, therefore, it is essentially important that law violators, be it a state or non state actor, must be held accountable.
With profound regards
Mehmood Ahmed Saghar
Convener,
All Parties Hurriyat Conference AJK & Pakistan Chapter