Srinagar
In occupied Kashmir, senior leader of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq led Hurriyat forum, Bilal Ghani Lone, has strongly denounced the continued illegal house detention of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and demanded his immediate release.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has been under illegal house detention in Srinagar since August 5, last year, when India repealed the special status of Kashmir and divided it into two union territories.
Bilal Ghani Lone in a statement issued in Srinagar deplored that it had been more than 10 months since Mirwaiz Umar Farooq had been arbitrarily put under house arrest at his Nigeen House in Srinagar. He said that although Mirwaiz had been repeatedly put under arbitrary house arrest for the past two decades by the occupation authorities but it was the longest period. He said that the authorities should immediately revoke his arbitrary house arrest and set the Mirwaiz free. His civil rights and liberties should be restored, he added.
Bilal Lone also reiterated the demand for release of thousands of Hurriyat leaders, activists and youth languishing in different jails of India and the territory. He added that keeping Hurriyat leaders and activists in jails for their ideology and political beliefs was inhuman, as freedom of dissent and difference of opinion was a fundamental human right.
He also criticised the new media policy announced by the occupation authorities to curb press freedom in the name of so-called “fake news and misinformation”. He urged international human rights and media organisations to take note of the draconian censorship law and raise their voice against it. He said that such a law should be immediately withdrawn.
He said that the Hurriyat leadership and people of Kashmir were deeply grieved over the daily loss of lives of young boys killed in cordon and search operations by the Indian troops.
He appealed to all rights bodies in India and the international community to intervene and resolve the Kashmir dispute according to the will of Kashmiri people.—INP
