SRINAGAR: Leaders of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) including Chairman of Islamic Political Party (IPP), Jammu Kashmir, Mohammad Yousuf Naqash and Tehreek-e-Mazhamat, Bilal Sidiqui on Friday addressed a huge public gathering at Hatigam, Bijbehara in south Kashmir. Senior IPP leader Adnan Salafi along with party activists Sajad Ahmad Lone and Umar Nazir Bhat were accompanying them.
In their addresses, the leaders in their address blamed the puppet administration for its highhandedness and said they have turned the state into a virtual jail where fundamental rights of people are being trampled and innocents jailed for months without assigning any reason.
Naqash and Sidiqi termed the detention of Kashmiri political prisoners in various jails across state and India and prolonging of their detentions on one pretext or the other as undemocratic.
They said Kashmiri detainees are facing grave problems in jails and despite their release orders they are not even being produced in the courts on hearing dates which creates immense hardships to their families. The APHC leaders said Kashmiri youth from across the Valley are being arrested and implicated in false cases which forces youth to take up the arms who were otherwise pursuing through peaceful means to fight for the just cause. Meanwhile, in a press release, Naqash and Sidiqi expressed deep concern over the continuous detention of elderly and ailing APHC leader Ghulam Mohammad Khan Sopori and demanded his release. They said Khan Sopori is suffering from multiple ailments and continuous detention can prove detrimental for his health. They strongly condemned police attitude towards Khan Sopori and said authorities are not taking care of his deteriorating health. Agencies