DFP seeks Amnesty’s intervention over India’s systematic repression in IIOJK
Saghar asks Dr. Agnès to act against profiling, mass detentions,rights abuses
Islamabad: Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) has urged Amnesty International to take urgent notice of India’s escalating repression in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, warning that the systematic profiling of Kashmiris and the dire condition of political prisoners demand immediate global intervention.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the appeal was made in a detailed letter addressed to Dr. Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, by Mehmood Ahmed Saghar, Acting President of the DFP. Saghar drew international attention to what he described as an alarming campaign by Indian authorities to dehumanise Kashmiris, malign their peaceful political aspirations, and silence dissent through coercive state practices.
Saghar said that following the recent blast in New Delhi, Kashmiri students, professionals, and businesspersons across the Indian mainland are facing intensified stereotyping, harassment, and profiling. He noted that the atmosphere of fear has deepened as right-wing actors and sections of the Indian media are peddling anti-Kashmiri propaganda, with some voices openly calling for collective punishment and expulsion of Kashmiris.
He cautioned that such smear campaigns mirror previous patterns, including the period after the Pahalgam incident, when an entire population was targeted to justify further repression. “Branding the entire Kashmiri nation as extremists serves only the ruling BJP, which has repeatedly exploited such incidents to conceal failures and intensify oppression,” he wrote.
Saghar said that the occupied territory is witnessing a dramatic increase in CASOs, raids, and mass detentions, with thousands of civilians being picked up, and entire neighbourhoods subjected to nocturnal searches. Families of political activists, he added, are facing harassment, humiliation, and property confiscation, leaving the population traumatised. He condemned Indian forces for forcing men, women, and children to sit outside their homes in freezing temperatures during night-long searches.
The DFP leader expressed grave concern over the worsening plight of Kashmiri political prisoners, many of whom are held far from home in life-threatening conditions. He said Indian authorities are deliberately denying detainees access to medical care and basic rights, violating international humanitarian law. Highlighting the case of veteran leader Shabbir Ahmed Shah—declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International in 1994—Saghar said Shah and many others are suffering serious ailments but are being denied treatment.
Saghar appreciated Amnesty International’s longstanding commitment to documenting and exposing rights violations in Kashmir and urged the organisation to urgently intervene. He called on the global body to hold India accountable for its systematic repression, ensure the protection of political prisoners, and uphold international human rights standards in the UN-recognised disputed territory.
