JAMMU In occupied Kashmir, the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Movement has urged the United Nations and the international community to secure the release of Hurriyat leaders and activists in view of the outbreak of coronavirus. APHC leader and JKPM Chairman Mir Shahid Saleem in a statement in Jammu said that the Kashmiri people were extremely concerned about the hundreds of innocent prisoners, especially the aged and ailing ones, languishing in Indian jails. The JKPM chairman demanded an immediate release of thousands of prisoners who are either in custody or booked under baseless charges. He said several detained leaders are suffering from some serious ailments, like diabetes and high blood pressure. He said instead of releasing them the authorities are keeping them in the overcrowded jails, exposing them to the serious health threats. Mir Shahid Saleem warned that if anything untoward happened to any of the detainees, the authorities would be responsible for it. Meanwhile, Hurriyat Leader and President of Jammu and Kashmir Salvation Movement Altaf Ahmed Butt Jammu and Kashmir Islami Tanzeeme-Azadi in their separate statements in Islamabad expressed concern over lack of health facilities for Kashmiri political detainees imprisoned in Indian jails. They sought intervention by the international community for their release. Altaf Ahmad Butt said that after the revocation of Article 350 and 35A, the situation in Kashmir worsened and people suffered mentally, physically, economically and socially. “Now with the new challenge of COVID-19 is posing a great risk to the besieged people of Kashmir.” He demanded the release of all the detainees.” Islami Tanzeem-e-Azadi said that India was legally and morally bound to provide all necessary facilities to the detainees to secure them from the deadly coronavirus. Tehreek-eIstiqlal vice Chairma Mushtaq Ahmad Butt in a statement aslo demanded the release of Kashmiri detainees from Indian jails.—KMS
