Srinagar
In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the Hurriyat forum headed by incarcerated Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has termed the prevailing situation in the territory as extremely worrying and disturbing.
The Hurriyat forum in a statement issued in Srinagar said that the large-scale deployment of Indian armed forces in cities and towns of the territory had created a sense of insecurity among the people.
It said that despite the presence of lacs of Indian troops across IIOJK, there was a sense of uneasiness among the people over the recent deployment of more forces’ personnel.
The Hurriyat forum said that in these days of severe cold, the forces’ personnel have set up roadblocks at various places where they are not only frisking the ordinary passersby and people but also harassing them.
Besides, crackdowns are being launched in various areas where men and women are being paraded indiscriminately, it deplored.
The Hurriyat forum said Kashmir is a humanitarian and political issue that can be resolved through comprehensive dialogue among the parties, not through the implementation of policies of coercion or military force.
The arrests, harassment, killings and ongoing human rights violations are regrettable and reprehensible in all respects, it added.
The Hurriyat forum also criticised the authorities’ action of forcibly preventing the Muslims from performing important duties like offering Friday prayers at Jamia Masjid in Srinagar, terming it a sheer interference in religious affairs. It said the religious sentiments of the people were being hurt by such measures.
The forum demanded release of its Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who has been under illegal and arbitrary house detention since 05 August 2019 and also all political leaders, including Muhammad Yasin Malik, Shabbir Ahmad Shah, Advocate Shahid-ul-Islam, Aasiya Andrabi and hundreds of youth languishing in jails of India and the territory.
The prevailing political situation in IIOJK and the arbitrary imprisonment of its leaders and youth call for attention of the international human rights organisations, the forum said while demanding immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners including Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.—KMS
