SRINAGAR In occupie d Kashmir, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference has said that the life of the illegally detained Kashmiri Hurriyat leaders is at a high risk due to the spread of COVID-19. In a statement issued in Srinaga r, an APHC spokesman said, the announcement of the occupation authorities of releasing the Kashmiri detainees is just an eye wash. He lamented that barring a few Hurriyat associates, thousands of Kashmiris including top Hurriya t leaders, Muhammad Yasin Malik, Shabbir Ahmad Shah, Masarrat A alam But, Mian Abdul Qayoom, Dr Abdul Hame ed Fayaz, Altaf Ahma d Fantosh, Ayaz Akb ar, Pir Saifullah, Aasiya Andrabi, Fahmeeda Sofi, Nahida Na sreen and Nayeem Ahmad Khan, are still under illegal detention. The APHC spokesman mainta ined that these inc arcerated Hurriyat leaders are being deprive d of basic human facilities as well as the medical care. He pointed out that they have been p ut in such conditions in jails that they can easily be infected by the coronavirus. Meanwhile, Hurriyat leader, Muhammad Yousuf Naqash, in a media interview in Srinagar expressed concern over increase in the miseries of Kashmiri people due to the c ontinued lockdow n. He said, the people of the territory are facing a shortage of daily commodities and medicine as the lockdow n has been further intensified due to the outb reak of coronavirus. Jammu and Kashmir Students and Youth Forum Chairman, Manzoor Butt, in a statement in Srinagar re jected the new ly introduced domicile law i n occupied Kashmir, calling it an Indian act of colonial design to usurp local land and change the demography of the territory. He maintained that the people of Kashmir w ould never allow the sacred bloo d of their great martyrs to go w aste. Students in occupied Kashmir talking to media men compla ined that they w ere facing difficulties in accessing educational si tes due to continued gag on high speed internet. They demanded immediate restoration of the facility in the territory. Apple grow ers and traders in Kashmir are forced to pay for cold storages in exchange for earning nothing as all markets and transport are shut because of the lockdow n. As many as one lakh tonnes of apple are lying in cold storages in Pulw ama, Shopian, and other areas of occupied Kashmir. Amid strict lockdown in India d ue to the coronavirus pandemic, more tha n 40,000 labourers from occupied Kas hmir are stranded in various Indian states without food and money. They told media pe rsons in Srinagar o ver phone that they had nothing to eat as they had no money to buy food. On the other hand, the Indian Supreme Court has rejected the bail petition of renowned writer, human rights activist and vocal defender of human and political rights of the Kashmiri people, Gautam Navlakha and handed over his case to the notorious National Investigation Agency for investigation. He is booked under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act on the ridiculous charge of plotting to kill Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. Navlakha has a long association with Kashmir. He frequently wrote about human rights violations by Indian troops in occupied Kashmir.—KMS
