S R I NA GA R In occupied Kashmir, Tehreek-eMuzahamat (TeM) has said that the Indian government is playing with the lives of thousands of illegally de tained Hurriyat leaders and activists languishing in different jails of India and the territory. The TeM General Secretary, Muhammad Sali m Zargar in a stateme nt issued in S rinagar termed the announcements and claims by the Indian government about releasing of political prisoners amid coronavirus a cruel joke. He deplored that hundreds of Hurriyat leaders and activists had been languishing in overcrowded prisons in India and occupied Kashmir and the authorities were not releasing them despite the directives of the Indian Supreme Court. He appealed to the international community and human rights bodies to take serious note of Indian colonial acts in occupied Kashmir and use their influence to force the Indian rulers for respecting the human rights of Kashmiri political detainees. Meanwhile, ailing Hurriyat leader, Ghulam Muhammad Khan Sopori, in a statement issued in Srinagar paid glowing tributes to liberation leader, S Hameed Wani, on the eve of his 22nd martyrdom anniversary. Indian police had arrested S Hamid Wani on April 18, 1998 in Soura area of Srinagar and killed him in custody. Ghulam Muhammad Khan Sopori said that S Hameed Wani and other Kashmiri martyrs had sacrificed their lives for a great cause and their blood would not be allowed to go waste. He describe d Shaheed S Hameed Wani as a sincere leader w ho dev oted his life for the Kashmir cause. He reiterated the Kashmiris’ resolve to continue struggle till settlement of the lingering Kashmir dispute in accordance with their aspirations.—KMS
