AJK PM slams sentencing of Aasiya Andrabi, her associates by Delhi court, calls it political coercion
Muzaffarabad: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore on Tuesday strongly condemned the sentencing of senior Kashmiri Hurriyat leader and Dukhtaran-e-Millat chief Aasiya Andrabi and her two associated by an Indian court, terming the verdict a manifestation of “political coercion” aimed at silencing dissent in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
According to Kashmir Media Service, in a social media post on X, PM Raja Mumtaz Rathore denounced the life imprisonment awarded to Aasiya Andrabi, along with 30-year sentences handed down to her associates Fehmida Sofi and Nahida Nasreen by a special court of India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) in New Delhi.
“These verdicts are not about justice; they are instruments of political coercion designed to criminalise dissent and suppress the legitimate voice of the Kashmiri people,” he said, adding that targeting women for their political beliefs laid bare the deep bias in the system.
Andrabi is the founder of the Dukhtaran-i-Millat organization. The court sentenced her, Fehmida and Nasreen under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Additional Sessions Judge Chander Jit Singh of the specially designated NIA Court handed down the sentences after hearing arguments about the quantum of punishment.
The three were convicted on January 14, 2026, under various provisions of the UAPA and the Indian Penal Code, including “charges of conspiracy to commit militant acts and waging war against the state”.
The AJK premier said the decision reflected a broader pattern in which peaceful political expression in the occupied territory was being met with punitive measures. “This is not the rule of law; it is the systematic criminalisation of a legitimate political struggle for the internationally recognised right to self-determination,” Rathore said.
He urged the United Nations and international human rights organisations to take immediate notice of the development and play their role in ensuring the release of Kashmiri political prisoners. “The people of occupied Jammu and Kashmir cannot be subdued through intimidation. Their resolve for freedom, justice and dignity will endure,” he added.
Meanwhile, APHC-AJK leader Altaf Ahmed Bhat described the case as politically motivated and fabricated under the “draconian” UAPA.
“These fabricated cases are not about justice. They are designed to imprison, discredit and destroy the leadership of a people striving for their basic rights,” Bhat said. He said the Indian authorities were routinely denying medical treatment, ignoring credible health needs, and keeping Hurriyat leaders in harsh conditions, amounting to “gradual elimination inside jail walls”.
“This is not justice; this is persecution. When judicial systems are used as instruments of repression, detainees become prisoners of politics, not law. “These tactics mirror a larger strategy aimed at crushing Kashmiri political movements through manufactured charges and prolonged incarceration rather than through fair and open political dialogue,” Bhat stated.
He urged the international community, human rights watchdogs, and the United Nations to take urgent action, hold India accountable, and pressure New Delhi to release all Kashmiri political detainees, implement UN resolutions on Kashmir, and facilitate the long-delayed process of plebiscite and the right to self-determination.
