Parvez Shah urges UNHRC to act on deteriorating detention situation in IIOJK
Highlights mass arrests, overcrowded prisons, and declining faith in Indian judiciary
Geneva: All Parties Hurriyat Conference Azad Jammu and Kashmir (APHC-AJK) chapter General Secretary Advocate Parvez Ahmad Shah has urged the United Nations Human Rights Council to take urgent action over the deteriorating detention situation in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), warning that mass arrests, prison overcrowding and concerns over judicial fairness pose serious human rights challenges.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Advocate Parvez Ahmad Shah, representing United Villages, was addressing the 63rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) today during the General Debate under Agenda Item 2.
In his statement, Parvez Ahmad Shah expressed deep concern over the High Commissioner’s failure to adequately address the deteriorating detention situation in IIOJK.
Citing official reports, he noted that in July 2026 alone, over 3,000 Kashmiri youth were taken into custody. By August, regional prisons were holding more than 5,300 inmates against a sanctioned capacity of only 3,600.
“This severe overcrowding raises serious concerns about prison conditions, access to healthcare, sanitation and the humane treatment of Kashmiri detainees,” he said.
He further highlighted “the growing collapse of public faith in the fairness and impartiality of the Indian judiciary.” Referring to the incarcerated Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front Mohammad Yasin Malik, he pointed to a single affidavit in which Malik simultaneously sought the death penalty for himself while denying any involvement in the alleged crime.
“Such self-contradictory statements do not reflect the free exercise of justice. They indicate possible coercion, profound despair, and a complete erosion of confidence in due process. When individuals believe that courts will not protect their rights, the rule of law itself stands on trial,” he said.
He urged the United Nations Human Rights Council to closely monitor detention practices in occupied Jammu and Kashmir, seek independent and unhindered access to prisons and detention facilities, and ensure that the occupying power complies with all international standards on detention, prison conditions, and guarantees of a fair trial in accordance with international law.
“Justice delayed is justice denied. Justice coerced is justice destroyed,” Advocate Parvez Ahmad Shah concluded.
