SHOPIAN/SRINAGAR In Indian Occupied Kashmir, occupational forces arrested several Kashmiris from different areas of the territory. According to the Kashmir Media Service, the forces during cordon and search operations arrested two youth in Wachi area of Shopian district on Monday. Indian police arrested several shopkeepers including Bashir Ahmad Gania, Mansoor Ahmad Ganie and Ghulam Qadir Sheikh in Srinagar and Ganderbal districts. On the other hand, Indian troops continued their cordon and search operations in several areas of Kupwara, Baramulla, Bandipore, Budgam, Ganderbal, Islamabad, Pulwama, Kulgam, Shopian and Kishtwar. In occupied Kashmir, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference has said that the illegally detained Kashmiri Hurriyat leaders and activists are subjected to cruelty and with anti-Kashmiri bias in the jails of India and the occupied territory. An APHC spokesman in a statement issued in Srinagar, today, while expressing his deep concern over the plight of Kashmiri detainees said that most of these detainees had spent more than two decades in jails. He said some of these detainees include Dr. Muhammad Shafi Shariati, Dr. Mohammad Qasim Fakhtoo, Ghulam Qadir Butt, Nazir Ahmad Sheikh, Mohammad Ayub Dar, Mohammad Ayub Mir, Javed Ahmad Khan, Ata Muhammad Khan, Zakir Hussain Butt, Wahid Ahmed Naiko, Feroz Ahmed Dar, Fahdullah, Abdul Hameed Taili, Feroz Ahmed Butt, Pervaiz Ahmed Mir, Mohammad Abbas Wani, Farooq Ahmad Sheikh, Ghulam Muhammad Butt, Tariq Ahmed Mattoo, Abdul Majeed Baba, Mahmood Topi Wala, Bashir Ahmad Pannu, Fayyaz Ahmed And Sharifud Din. The spokesman cited the ruling of the Indian Supreme Court and said that a detainee was entitled to bail after spending ten years in jail and he could be released after spending fourteen years in jail. However, the spokesman deplored that the detainees from occupied Jammu and Kashmir were treated with discrimination and are subjected to political vendetta. He pointed out that they were attacked by racist criminals in jails. The APHC spokesman said, hundreds of detainees are currently imprisoned in different jails of India and Kashmir and their life is at risk because of the spread of the coronavirus. He maintained that these detainees were suffering from various ailments due to lack of basic facilities, proper medical care and better nutrition in jails. He hailed the steadfastness of the Hurriyat leaders facing the hardships of imprisonment for decades and prayed for early mitigation of their sufferings. He said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir are proud of Hurriyat leaders and activists, who are either in jails or in field where they are struggling for a peaceful and sustainable solution to the Kashmir dispute under UN resolutions. The spokesman said, the situation is turning from bad to worse because of the fast spread of coronavirus worldwide, and governments are taking strict measures to save people from the deadly virus, while prisoners involved in various crimes are also being released to save their lives. ‘Keeping in view this dangerous situation, it is imperative that all Kashmiri detainees should also be released from jails, immediately and unconditionally,’ the spokesman demanded. The APHC appealed to the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, the International Committee of Red Cross and all local and international human rights organizations including Asia Watch and Amnesty International to use their clout for the release of the jailed Kashmiris and settlement of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with UN resolutions.—KMS
