The Indian government’s ongoing crackdown on separatist leadership in Jammu and Kashmir has intensified as an Indian court convicted prominent pro-independence leader Asiya Andrabi along with two other activists in a politically motivated case.
Kashmir Media Service reported that Asiya Andrabi, the head of the separatist women’s organization Dukhtaran-e-Millat was found guilty in a case linked to the Kashmir conflict.
Alongside her, separatist leaders Fahmida Soofi and Naheedah Nasreen were also convicted. The court is scheduled to announce their sentences on January 17.
This conviction comes amid heightened tensions in the region, where the Indian government continues to face criticism for its policies and actions against Kashmiri separatists and activists.
The case was heard in a court under India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA), known for handling sensitive matters related to national security and political dissent.
Asiya Andrabi, who founded Dukhtaran-e-Millat in 1987, has been an outspoken advocate for Kashmir’s independence. She was arrested in April 2018 under charges widely considered to be politically motivated. Her organization has long campaigned for the freedom of Kashmir from Indian rule.
Andrabi’s husband, Ashiq Hussain, has been imprisoned under fabricated charges for nearly three decades. Kashmir separatist groups have condemned the continued repression, asserting that such actions will not deter the Kashmiri people’s ongoing struggle for independence.
