APHC slams new laws, demographic changes, curbs on Friday sermons in IIOJK
Hurriyat-AJK leaders urge UN, world to protect Kashmiris’ fundamental rights
Islamabad: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Azad Jammu and Kashmir chapter has strongly condemned India’s new laws, demographic change measures and interference in religious affairs in occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Hurriyat leaders expressed these concerns at a meeting in Islamabad. APHC-AJK Convener Ghulam Muhammad Safi chaired the meeting.
The leaders said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government was introducing new laws and administrative measures. They said these steps aimed to deprive Kashmiris of their fundamental rights. They said India’s demographic policies also threatened the territory’s Muslim-majority identity. Such measures posed serious risks to Kashmiris’ political, social and religious rights, they added.
The meeting expressed deep concern over attempts to bring Friday sermons under government directives. The leaders said that the BJP government wanted to control sermons in Muslim-majority IIOJK.
They said government interference in sermons and religious practices would undermine religious freedom. They stressed that Kashmiri Muslims must be free to practise their faith according to their beliefs.
The leaders maintained that Muslims must enjoy the freedom to worship and perform religious duties in mosques. They said religious sites and sermons must remain free from political and administrative pressure.
The Hurriyat leaders urged the international community, the United Nations and human rights organisations to take notice of the situation. They called for action to address demographic change measures, new laws and restrictions on religious freedom. They stressed the need to protect the fundamental rights of the Kashmiri people.
