Daily Times

Kashmiri delegation, headed by Altaf Hussain Wani, staged a strong protest in front of the UN office against India’s illegal occupation and systematic violations of human rights committed by Indian forces in occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

Referring to the fast-deteriorating political and human rights situation in occupied Kashmir, the speakers sought the UN Commission’s urgent intervention to help stop bloodshed and human rights violations in the troubled region, said a press release.

Highlighting the plight of Kashmiri prisoners, the speakers said that thousands of Kashmiris who were taken into preventive custody on and after the 5th of August were languishing in Indian jails thousands of kilometres away from their homes.

They said that dozens of Kashmiri women prisoners who have been lodged in notorious Tihar jail and other prisons were forced to face dire situations.

Indian occupying authorities, they said, have since long been using arbitrary detentions as a tool of repression against Kashmiri political leaders, civil society members, journalists, lawyers, and human rights defenders. The Indian occupation authorities, they said, have also been using arbitrary arrests and prolonged detentions under anti-terror laws as a means to intimidate dissent and spread terror among masses in Indian-Occupied Kashmir.

Calling for the early release of all illegally held prisoners, they said that it was high time that the council should raise the matter with the government of India to help secure an early release of all Kashmiri Hurriyat leaders including Muhammad Yasin Malik, Shabir Ahmed Shah, Mussarat Aalam Bhuat, Nayeem Khan, Asiya Indrabi and several others.

They also appealed to the UN Human Rights Council and other international human rights organizations to take effective notice of the Indian government’s totalitarian measures that seek to change the demography of the Muslim majority state and convert it into a minority. They said the human rights situation in the occupied territory has further worsened since India’s apartheid regime revoked Article 370 and 35A in August 2019.

Terming BJP’s Hindutva ideology as the biggest threat, they said that the Hindutva-driven politics pose a serious existential threat to Kashmiris. They said that it was high time that the international community should raise the issues arising from the Hindutva-driven politics.

Mehbooba Mufti: Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti has criticized the use of the draconian Enemy Agents Ordinance against the Kashmiris, calling it a violation of constitutional rights.

According to Kashmir Media Service, Mehbooba Mufti’s remarks came after Indian police authorities announced that Kashmiris, who are found supporting pro-freedom activists, will be dealt with in the Enemy Agents Ordinance. This law allows Indian police to arrest and prosecute innocent Kashmiri youth by declaring them sympathizers of pro-freedom activists, with punishments of up to five years of imprisonment.

Mehbooba Mufti said that the police’s recent decision of invoking the draconian Enemy Ordinance Act from the Maharaja’s era against [Kashmiris] on mere suspicion of abetting and aiding ‘militants’ is not only deeply concerning but a major breach of justice”. She added that these archaic laws violate human rights and their severe punishments are grossly incompatible with the principles and values of justice enshrined in the Constitution.

The PDP chief emphasized that the Indian government’s quest to address so-called security concerns in IIOJK should not come at the cost of trampling constitutional rights and eroding the rule of law.