Uttar Pradesh, India
Kashmiri journalist, Qazi Shibli, was released from Bareilly District Jail in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh after nine months illegal detention.
Indian troops had arrested Qazi Shibli, a south Kashmir-based journalist, in July last year, a week before the Indian government imposed clampdown and communication blackout when it scrapped the special status of Kashmir and divided it into two union territories on August 05, 2019.
Shibli was booked under draconian law, Public Safety Act (PSA) on 8th August 2019. He was released on Thursday from the jail and is traveling back to occupied Kashmir with a family member.
Meanwhile, 18 Kashmiri prisoners, detained under the PSA, were released from different jails in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, India.
Thousands of Kashmiris were arrested by Indian government after it revoked the special status of occupied Kashmir on August 05, last year. Hundreds of the detainees were booked under the draconian PSA and shifted to the Indian jails.
On the other hand, the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) spokesman in a statement issued in Srinagar demanded the release of all Kashmiri detainees ahead of the commencement of holy month of Ramadan. He said that the continued illegal detention of hundreds of youth, political leaders and activists was a matter of serious concern and needed to be addressed on priority.
He said that the party was concerned over the continued detention of its President, Mehbooba Mufti.—KMS
