Srinagar
In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the Hurriyat forum led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has expressed serious concern over the fresh wave of arbitrary arrests of youth in the territory.
The forum in a statement issued in Srinagar, today, said that the use of severe force and repression on mourners in this sacred month of Muharram-ul-Haram was not only unfortunate but also extremely condemnable.
It strongly condemned the teargas shelling and aerial firing on a Muharram procession in Badgam, booking of youth under several cases in Badgam and Srinagar, arrests in Batamaloo and its adjacent areas, and imposing of strict restrictions in several parts of the Kashmir Valley including Srinagar. It said that such harsh measures were in clear violation of the worldwide accepted democratic norms and principles.
The statement maintained that the sentiments of people especially youth can never be suppressed by the dint of force. It deplored that the violation of basic human rights and suppression of genuine sentiments of Kashmiris continues for the last seven decades. This should be an eye-opener and a matter of concern for world human rights bodies and the international community, it added.
The Hurriyat forum reiterated that it strongly opposes the Indian government’s unilateral steps aimed at usurping the rights of the people of IIOJK, saying that such measures cannot alter the nature, status and significance of the unresolved Kashmir dispute.
The statement demanded unconditional release of not only those Kashmiris who were arrested recently but also of all Hurriyat leaders, political leaders, civil society members and youth detained in homes, police stations, and prisons in IIOJK and jails across India.—KMS
