Srinagar
In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, congestion in jails and infection of inmates at large scale have triggered concern among the general public about the safety of Hurriyat leaders and activists.
Ruwa Shah, daughter of illegally detained prominent Hurriyat leader, Altaf Ahmed Shah, in a tweet expressed concern over the health of her father Altaf Ahmad Shah and other Hurriyat leaders languishing in New Delhi’s infamous Tihar jail.
She said, every day at least two people are dying of Covid inside the jail and more than 250 people have tested positive, so far.
APHC in a statement issued in Srinagar appealed to the United Nations, International Committee of Red Cross and other human rights organizations to intervene and come to the rescue of Kashmiri detainees languishing in jails.
It emphasized that several liberation leaders are suffering from multiple ailments and are deprived of basic human amenities including medical care.
The statement said that the custodial death of Hurriyat leader Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai had indicated that detainees are facing life threat due to Covid.
It may be recalled that the Indian Supreme Court in a recent judgment directed the authorities to release a number of prisoners so that the issue of congestion could be addressed.
Hurriyat leaders and organizations including Khwaja Firdous, Ghulam Muhammad Khan Sopori, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, Jammu and Kashmir Political Resistance Movement and Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Justice Party in their statements issued in Srinagar condemned the surge in cordon and search operations carried out by brutal Indian forces amid widespread coronavirus pandemic in the territory.
They said that the unmasked troops violating the Covid 19 SOPs are forcing people to stay together for hours during the operations.
Hurriyat leader Mukhtar Ahmad Waza said that the amicable settlement of Kashmir dispute is vital for durable peace in the region.
Posters and pamphlets again appeared in Srinagar and other areas of the valley appealing people to rise against the forcible occupation of the territory by India. The posters were displayed by Jammu and Kashmir Justice and Peace Initiative.
A report released by the Research Section of Kashmir Media Service on Mother’s Day, today, said when most parts of the world are observing Mother’s Day, today, thousands of Kashmiri women continue to wait for the return of their sons imprisoned in jails and subjected to enforced disappearance in custody by Indian troops during the past over three decades.
It pointed out that continued Indian state terrorism had resulted in the killing of 95,780 Kashmiris including women and children from 1989 to 9th of May 2021.
As many as 22,926 women have been widowed by the Indian forces and 11,240 raped, disgraced or molested during the period. —KMS
