FM calls for immediate acquittal of Yasin Malik

ISLAMABAD: Condemning the conviction of Hurriyat leader Yasin Malik by the Indian court, Pakistan has demanded his immediate acquittal.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said Yasin Malik is the most prominent and respected voice among Hurriyat leaders in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K). He added that Hurriyat leader’s firm resolve against decades of Indian oppression could not be shaken by such travesties of justice.

“I demand acquittal of Yasin Malik. The fabricated charges against him must be dropped. He must be released forthwith and allowed to reunite with his family,” said FM, adding India must release all political prisoners and stop human rights violations in the IIOJ&K. The foreign minister said India must know that it cannot restraint the Kashmiri people from exercising their right to self-determination, given to them by the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council.

“I call upon the international community, the United Nations and the human rights and humanitarian organisations to exhort India to stop this grave injustice against Yasin Malik,” Bilawal said. Addressing a press conference, PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira also strongly condemned the conviction of Yasin Malik on fictitious grounds and termed it gross violation of human rights and fundamental rights.

Mushaal Hussein Mullick, Chairperson Peace and Culture Organization (PCO), meanwhile, invoking the attention of the international community towards the violation of human rights in the IIOJ&K, said that Yasin Malik’s case was one of the worst examples of judicial victimisation.

Addressing a press conference with MQM MNAs including Kishwar Zehra, Usama Qadir and Sabir Qaim Khani, the wife of jailed Kashmiri Hurriyat Leader Yasin Malik said that India’s fascist regime was suppressing the innocent Kashmiris and their pro-freedom leaders over raising the voice for their right to self-determination. Modi’s regime, she said was committing the worst atrocities against innocent Kashmiris. The cellular services were suspended, people were being disconnected from communication channels, and arrests were made to suppress the freedom struggle, she added.

One million armed personnel were imposed and the entire valley was converted into the world’s largest jail, Mushaal lamented and said the UN must intervene to ensure the protection and safety of the unarmed Kashmiris, especially Yasin Malik, under trial in a fictitious case.

Mushaal said that the international community, UN bodies and human rights organisations should wake up from their deep slumber as brutal Indian authorities were all-set to convict Kashmiri Hurriyat leader Yasin in fake cases on May 25.

Chairperson PCO said that Yasin was constantly tortured physically and mentally and denied even ‘international basic rights guaranteed to the prisoners’. Mullick went on to say that the senior Hurriyat leader was kept in solitary confinement as even his family members were not allowed to meet him.

The MQM MNAs also expressed solidarity and reiterated that they will support Mushaal and highlight Yasins Mallik's case at all international fora. Kishwar Zehra said that Modi’s government suppressed the voice of Kashmiris through these nefarious acts but the reaction of people would be more harmful to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideology.