APHC expresses concern over continued illegal detention of Hurriyat leaders, demands release before Eid
Srinagar: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference has expressed serious concern over the continued unlawful detention of thousands of Kashmiris including pro-freedom leaders, lamenting that top Hurriyet leaders have been languishing in New Delhi’s notorious Tihar Jail for over half a decade now.
According to Kashmir Media Service, APHC spokesman Advocate Abdul Rashid Minhas in a statement issued in Srinagar while strongly criticizing the Modi regime for subjecting the Kashmiri pro-freedom leaders and activists to the worst kind of political vengeance demanded release of Hurriyat leaders, activists and youth before Eid-ul-Fitr.
He said that APHC Chairman, Masarrat Alam Butt was arrested in April 2015 and has thus completed 9 years in illegal detention in Tihar jail.
The APHC senior leader Shabir Ahmed Shah who was arrested in a fake case in July, 2017 completed 7 years in illegal detention in the jail.
The JKLF Chairman, Muhammad Yasin Malik was arrested in April 2019 and completed 5 years in illegal detention in the same jail.
The chairperson of Dukhtaran-e-Millat Syeda Asiya Andrabi and her associates, Fahmeeda Sofi and Nahida Nasreen, were arrested in May 2017 and thus completing 7 years in illegal detention in the jail.
Another senior APHC leader Nayeem Khan who was arrested in July 2017 completed his 7 years in illegal detention in the Indian jail, the spokesman said.
He said that other Hurriyet leaders including Ayaz Akbar, Pir Saifullah, Merajuddin Kalwal, Shahid-ul-Islam, Farooq Ahmed Dar, Syed Shahid Yousuf Shah, Syed Shakeel Yousuf Shah, Bilal Siddiqi, Molvi Bashir Irfani, Mushtaq-ul-Islam, Ameer Hamza, Dr Hameed Fayaz, Noor Muhammad Fayaz, Hayat Ahmed Butt, Rafiq Ahmed Shah, Showket Hakeem, Advocate Zahid Ali, Zaffar Akbar Butt, Muhammad Yousuf Falahi, Dr Muhammad Qasim Fakhtoo, Dr Muhammad Shafi Shariati, Ghulam Qadir Butt, Rafiq Ahmad Ganai, Zahoor Ahmed Butt, Umar Adil Dar, Shabir Ahmed Dar, Firdous Ahmed Shah, Jahangir Ghani Butt, Saleem Nanaji, Sajad Hussain Gul, Muhammad Yasin Butt, Shamsuddin Rehmani, Hassan Firdousi, Fayaz Hussain Jaferi, Adil Siraj Zargar, Dawood Zargar, Aijaz Ahmed Shaikh, Burhan Sarjan Barkati, human rights defender Khurrum Parvaiz have been lodged since long time in different jails of India and IIOJK. Most of them have been put behind the bars in faraway jails in India.
The statement said that the APHC had been repeatedly demanding the release of political prisoners, who are arbitrarily detained in various jails and detention centres across the territory and in various states of India.
The spokesman saluted the determination, steadfastness and passion of the detained Kashmiri leaders, activists and youth and said they are rendering unprecedented sacrifices for the right to self-determination. He called upon the people of the occupied territory to take care of families of these unsung heroes and other victims of Indian state terrorism, saying it is our religious and moral obligation to help them in the hour of distress.
Additionally, the APHC deplored that the Narendra Modi-led Indian government is hell bent to impose its devilish Hindutva agenda and change the demography in IIOJK. He said, every aspect of life for Kashmiris is under assault by BJP’s Hindutva government. He asked the people to remain vigilant of Indian conspiracies and demonstrate unity to defeat them.
The APHC spokesman said Modi regime’s illegal actions taken on August 05, 2019 opened a more brutal chapter in Kashmir’s history. “Every Indian action is aimed at eroding culture, language and religious identity of Muslims”, he said. However, he added, “Indian brutal policies will only strengthen the people of Jammu and Kashmir resolve to resist its illegal occupation”.
