APHC demands unconditional release of detained Kashmiris

HELD SRINAGAR: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) said on Monday the illegally detained Kashmiri Hurriyat leaders and activists were being subjected to cruelty and with anti-Kashmiri bias in the jails of India and the occupied territory.

An APHC spokesman issued a statement in Srinagar, expressing his deep concern over the plight of Kashmiri detainees and saying that most of these detainees had spent more than two decades in jails.

He said some of these detainees include Dr Muhammad Shafi Shariati, Dr Mohammad Qasim Fakhtoo, Ghulam Qadir Butt, Nazir Ahmad Sheikh, Mohammad Ayub Dar, Mohammad Ayub Mir, Javed Ahmad Khan, Ata Muhammad Khan, Zakir Hussain Butt, Wahid Ahmed Naiko, Feroz Ahmed Dar, Fahdullah, Abdul Hameed Taili, Feroz Ahmed Butt, Pervaiz Ahmed Mir, Mohammad Abbas Wani, Farooq Ahmad Sheikh, Ghulam Muhammad Butt, Tariq Ahmed Mattoo, Abdul Majeed Baba, Mahmood Topi Wala, Bashir Ahmad Pannu, Fayyaz Ahmed and Sharifud Din.

Citing a ruling of the Indian Supreme Court, the spokesman said a detainee was entitled to bail after spending 10 years in jail and he could be released after spending 14 years in jail. However, the spokesman deplored that the detainees from occupied Jammu and Kashmir were treated with discrimination and were subjected to political vendetta. He pointed out that they were also being attacked by racist criminals in jails.

The APHC spokesman said hundreds of detainees were currently lodged in different jails of India and Kashmir and their life was at risk because of the spread of coronavirus.

He maintained that these detainees were suffering from various ailments due to lack of basic facilities, proper medical care and better nutrition in jails. He hailed the steadfastness of the Hurriyat leaders facing the hardships of imprisonment for decades and prayed for early mitigation of their sufferings.

The spokesman said the situation was turning from bad to worse because of the fast spread of coronavirus, therefore, it was imperative that all Kashmiri detainees should also be released from jails immediately and unconditionally.

The APHC appealed to UN Secretary General António Guterres, the International Committee of Red Cross and all local and international human rights organisations — including Asia Watch and Amnesty International — to use their clout for the release of the jailed Kashmiris as well as for the settlement of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with UN resolutions.