Torch-bearing rally in Muzaffarabad seeks release of Kashmiri detainees in Indian Jails
Muzaffarabad: A large torch-bearing protest rally was held in Muzaffarabad against the decades-long illegal and unconstitutional detention of Hurriyat leaders and activists in Indian jails.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the rally was jointly organized by the Tehreek Shabab-ul-Muslimeen Students Wing Jammu and Kashmir and the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Cell. People from various walks of life, including government ministers, political and religious leaders, civil society representatives, and a large number of youth, participated.
The main objective was to draw the international community’s attention to Kashmiri prisoners who have been facing miserable conditions, mental and physical torture, severe lack of medical facilities, and prolonged solitary confinement in Indian jails for decades.
Speakers said these detainees were arrested under fabricated charges in grave violation of international laws and human rights. They said the rally aimed to convey to the detainees that they are alive in the hearts of the nation and have not been forgotten.
Expressing grave concern over threats to the lives of Hurriyat leaders and activists in Indian jails, speakers appealed to the UN, OIC, and international human rights bodies to take urgent notice, pressure India, and ensure the release of all Kashmiri detainees held in baseless, politically motivated cases. They stressed that the Kashmir dispute must be resolved in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people and relevant UN resolutions, noting that the only “crime” of these prisoners is demanding the right to self-determination promised by India and the world.
Participants raised resounding slogans in favour of Hurriyat leaders, the Kashmir freedom movement, and against Indian atrocities. The torch-bearing rally was led by Government Minister Nabeela Ayub, APHC Information Secretary Mushtaq Ahmad Butt, PM AJK Advisor Shaukat Javed Mir, Liberation Cell Directors Raja Sajjad and Sajid Mehmood, Pasban-e-Hurriyat Chairman Uzair Ghazali, Shabab-ul-Muslimeen Students Wing Chairman Munir Kunshi, General Secretary Zubair Durrani, Chief Organizer Faizullah Khan Durrani, Central Chief Organizer Naseer Mir, Patron-in-Chief Jahangir Qureshi, and others.
