Srinagar, March 21 (KMS): In occupied Kashmir, the custodial killing of a school principal, Rizwan Asad, evoked more condemnation from Hurriyat leaders and organizations.
Rizwan Asad a resident of Awantipora area of Pulwama district associated with Jamaat-e-Islami of occupied Kashmir was tortured to death in custody of India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) during interrogation in Srinagar on the intervening night on Monday and Tuesday.
The Hurriyat forum led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in a statement in Srinagar said the incident has left entire Kashmir in a state of deep shock and grief and exhibits how people of Kashmir are denied the right to life. It urged the international community and all human rights bodies across the globe to take strong note of the killing of Rizwan and play role in ending human rights abuses in occupied Kashmir. Conducting CASOs, arrests, policies of intimidation through different Indian agencies and suppressive measures cannot undo the need for peaceful settlement of Kashmir dispute, it added.
Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front in a statement said the custodial killing of Rizwan amounts to murder of a whole generation. “This is the oppression that is pushing and has pushed our generations to the wall,” it added.
Jammu and Kashmir National Front in a statement in Srinagar demanded an impartial probe into the matter so that the culprits are brought to book.
The spokesman of Jammu and Kashmir Muslim League in a statement in Srinagar said this custodial killing is not only one of its kind but prior to this, hundreds and thousands of young and old Kashmiris have been killed in this manner. He said the custodial killing should be investigated by a Special Investigation Team.
The High Court Bar Association of occupied Kashmir in a statement in Srinagar demanded investigation into the custodial killing of Rizwan through a Special Investigation Team. It also urged the international community to take notice of the incident and raise voice against the massive human rights violations by Indian forces in the territory.
The President of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sheikh Ashiq Ahmed, in a statement in Srinagar termed the death of Rizwan in custody as an act of terror. Indian forces have been given a freehand to commit the worst kind of atrocities without impunity in the occupied territory, he added.
The Chief of mujahid organization Hizbul Mujahideen, Syed Salahudin, in a statement issued in Srinagar said that the custodial killing of Rizwan was highly condemnable.