In occupied Kashmir, over one thousand Hurriyat leaders and activists have been illegally detained, at present, by the Indian authorities in different detention centres of the territory and Indian jails.
According to a report released by the Research Section of the Kashmir Media Service, of those detained, over 500 persons have been put behind the bars under draconian Public Safety Act, whereas 16 have been imprisoned in Tihar Jail by Indian agencies NIA and Enforcement Directorate. Remaining persons are incarcerated in different police stations and interrogation centres. The report said the resistance leaders including Shabbir Ahmad Shah, Nayeem Ahmad Khan, Aasiya Andrabi, Altaf Ahmed Shah, Ayaz Muhammad Akbar, Peer Saifullah, Raja Merajuddin Kalwal, Shahid-ul-Islam, Farooq Ahmad Dar and Syed Shahid Shah are detained in Delhi’s Tihar jail in fake cases. While other Hurriyat leaders including, Masarrat Aalam Butt, Ghulam Muhammad Khan Sopori, Mushtaqul Islam, Maulana Barkati, Muhammad Yousuf Mir, Farooq Ahmad Tawheedi, Hakim Abdur Rasheed, Gulzar Ahmad Gulzar, Nisar Hussain Rather, Umar Adil Dar, Shakeel Ahmad Bakhshi and Feroz Ahmad Khan are imprisoned in different jails of IOK and India under the black law, Public Safety Act. Leaders like Muhammad Qasim Fakhtoo and Muhammad Shafi Shariati are facing life imprisonment.
The Chairman of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir, Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai in a statement issued in Srinagar said that Kashmir was a political dispute, which could only be resolved on the principle of the right to self determination. He made it clear that India would not be able to break Kashmiris’ resolve for their inalienable right through its iron-fist policy. He welcomed the joint statement by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Kashmir and termed it as source of strength for the people of Kashmir.
The Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, Muhammad Yasin Malik and other Hurriyat leaders paid rich tributes to martyr Sajjad Ahmad Kenu in connection with his 22nd martyrdom anniversary. Muhammad Yasin Malik addressing a meeting in Srinagar said martyrs like Sajjad Kenu are real heroes of Kashmiri people and their sacrifices will never be allowed to go waste.
Meanwhile, an extraordinary meeting of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference was held in Srinagar, today, which was presided over by the Chairman, Syed Ali Gilani. The existing set-up of the APHC AJK chapter was disbanded and Syed Abdullah Gilani was asked to take the responsibility of the forum.
