ISLAMABAD, SEP 8 (APP): Over three thousand Kashmiris, including APHC leaders, human rights defenders, journalists and students are being held in illegal detention across India and Jammu and Kashmir, subjected to relentless threats, torture and suppression, simply for demanding their inalienable right to self-determination and exposing the savage human rights violations perpetrated by Indian forces in the occupied territory.
According to a report published by Kashmir Media Service today, the majority of these detainees, including women, have been subjected to harsh charges under draconian laws like the Public Safety Act (PSA) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and are being held in total isolation within prisons.
As part of the BJP-RSS regime’s vindictive policy, more Hurriyat leaders, activists, youth, and human rights defenders, including APHC Chairman Masarrat Aalam Butt, Muhammad Yasin Malik, Shabbir Ahmad Shah, Aasiya Andrabi, Naheeda Nasreen, Fehmeeda Sufi, Nayeem Ahmad Khan, Ayaz Akbar, Pir Saifullah, Merajuddin Kalwal, Shahid-ul-Islam, Farooq Ahmed Dar, Syed Shahid Shah, Dr Hameed Fayaz, Bilal Sidiqi, Molvi Bashir Irfani, Ameer Hamza, Abdul Ahmad Parra, Zaffar Akbar Butt, Dr Muhammad Qasim Fakhtoo, Dr Muhammad Shafi Shariati, Ghulam Qadir Butt, Umar Adil Dar, Saleem Nanaji, Muhammad Yasin Butt, Noor Muhammad Fayaz, Hayat Ahmed Butt, and others, remain the worst victims of political vendetta, continuing to languish in different jails in occupied Kashmir and India.
They have been imprisoned on fabricated charges, with many shifted from IIOJK to far-off jails inside India.
The report said this cruel move is aimed at breaking their commitment to the ongoing freedom movement as well as hurting the families of the detainees emotionally and financially.
Criminal elements in the notorious Tihar Jail in New Delhi have tortured and humiliated several Kashmiri prisoners, including illegally detained Kashmiri leader Shabbir Ahmed Shah, Indian Parliament member Engineer Abdul Rashid, Ayoub Pathan of Beerwah, Bilal Mir of Qamarwari, Amir Gojri of Srinagar and Arshid Tanch of Kupwara.
The harassment crosses all limits whenever Kashmiris begin their prayers, as deliberate attempts are made to disturb and provoke them.
Prisoners involved in serious crimes have brutally tortured jailed Kashmiri political leaders and activists and threatened them with dire consequences. This shows that, in line with the BJP government’s policy, jail authorities are using new tactics to harass Kashmiri detainees.
It is worth mentioning that the BJP-led Indian regime has killed many imprisoned Kashmiri youth in staged encounters. Senior APHC leaders, including Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai, Altaf Ahmed Shah, and Ghulam Mohammed Bhat, also died during their incarcerations.
Even a mentally challenged resident of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Tabarak Hussain, who had inadvertently crossed the Line of Control in Rajouri district, was not spared and was killed in the custody of the Indian army.
Earlier, another resident from AJK’s Rawalakot, Zia Mustafa, who had mistakenly crossed the LoC on January 13, 2003, was arrested and later killed in the custody of Indian occupation forces. At that time, Zia’ s family had lodged a missing report at a local police station. Zia Mustafa, an under-trial prisoner in judicial custody, was taken out of Kot Bhalwal Jail, Jammu, and killed in a fake encounter near the LoC in October 2021.
The report also highlighted the continued illegal detention of Kashmiri journalists, including Irfan Meraj, and prominent human rights defenders, including Khurram Pervaiz.
Meanwhile, APHC spokesman Adv Abdul Rashid Minhas, in a statement issued in Srinagar, demanded the release of all political prisoners and appealed to the international community to increase pressure on India to grant Kashmiris their inalienable right to self-determination and resolve the Kashmir dispute.
