Srinagar
In occupied Kashmir, senior APHC leader and the Chairman of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir, Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai has reiterated his call for unfettered and unconditional access to the human rights organizations to independently monitor the grim human rights situation in the territory.
Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai in a statement issued in Srinagar said, the unresolved Kashmir dispute poses a great threat to stability in the South Asian region. He demanded unconditional release of all political leaders and activists including Shabbir Ahmad Shah, Muhammad Yasin Malik, Masarat Alam Butt, Peer Saifullah, Ayaz Akbar, Raja Merajudin Kalwaal, Altaf Ahmed Shah, Nayeem Ahmad Khan, Nisar Hussain Rathir, Mohammad Yousuf Falai, Abdul Ghani Butt, Umar Aadil Dar, Mushtaqul Islam and Ghulam Muhammad Khan Sopori.
Meanwhile, complete shutdown was observed in Tral and Awantipora areas of South Kashmir’s Pulwama district for the third consecutive day, today to mourn the killing of six youth by Indian forces. All shops and businesses establishments were closed while traffic was off the roads.
People from various areas continued to visit the residences of the martyred youth to offer condolences. The authorities at Islamic University of Sciences and Technology suspended class work and examinations amid fears of protests. Delegations of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir, Tehreek-e-Mazahmat, Muslim League and other Hurriyat organizations during their visits to the residences of martyrs in different areas of Pulwama urged the international community to take notice of the killing of Kashmiri youth on daily basis.
Jammu Muslim Front and other Jammu-based political organizations in their statements condemned the demolition of Muslim colonies in the name of anti-encroachment drive in Beli Chadana and Nikki Tawi areas of Jammu region.
Former Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram in a media interview asked for finding out the solution to the Kashmir dispute in line with the demand of the Muslim majority population of the territory. The Congress leader, who is very close to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, opposed the setting of any preconditions for the talks on the dispute.
Speakers at an All Parties Kashmir Conference in Birmingham urged the British government to play its role in resolving the Kashmir dispute. Those who addressed the seminar included Wajid Khan, Chaudhary Mohammad Azeem, Raja Najabat Hussain, Abdul Hameed Lone, Nazir Ahmad Qureshi, Sayed Aijaz Rahmani, Dr Saboor Javid and Raja Javed.—Kashmir Media Services
