Kashmiris facing worst Indian repression under occupation: APHC
Srinagar: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference has said that the people of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir continue to suffocate under unprecedented Indian repression, as the BJP government is stifling political dissent through state terrorism and black laws in the territory.
According to Kashmir Media Service, APHC spokesman Advocate Abdul Rashid Minhas, in a statement issued in Srinagar, said that the worst form of Indian state terrorism over the past 78 years has failed to suppress the Kashmiris’ freedom sentiment, and they remain determined to continue their struggle until they achieve their inalienable right to self-determination.
The APHC said that the BJP government is deliberately prolonging the detention of Kashmiri prisoners to victimize them for their political beliefs. The spokesman added that the regime has arrested thousands of civilians in the occupied territory since its illegal and unilateral actions of August 5, 2019, and thereafter. Those languishing in jails in India and IIOJK include APHC Chairman Masarrat Aalam Butt, Muhammad Yasin Malik, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, Nayeem Ahmed Khan, Aasiya Andrabi, Nahida Nasreen, Fehmida Sofi, Ayaz Akbar, Peer Saifullah, Merajudin Kalwal, Advocate Shahid-ul-Islam, Farooq Ahmed Dar, Molvi Bashir Ahmed, Mushtaq-ul-Islam, Bilal Siddiqi, Dr Hamid Fayaz, Advocate Mian Abdul Qayoom, and Zafar Akbar Butt.
The statement lamented that Kashmiri prisoners are confined to cells and denied adequate food and proper medical treatment in Indian jails, as a result of which their families are deeply concerned about their well-being. It added that the height of oppression is that family members of many inmates are even denied meetings with them.
The APHC said the BJP regime is turning a blind eye to the pathetic condition of Kashmiri detainees and is dilly-dallying over their release on one pretext or another despite court orders.
The APHC spokesman noted that India is flouting the Geneva Convention on prisoners’ rights by not only prolonging unlawful detentions but also making more arrests and carrying out extrajudicial killings of innocent civilians in IIOJK to pressurize them and break their resolve for freedom. However, he added that these repressive tactics will not deter the people of the occupied territory from pursuing their struggle for the right to self-determination.
The APHC urged the international community and global human rights organizations to take note of unlawful detentions in IIOJK and raise their voice for the release of illegally detained Kashmiris.
