Plight of Kashmiri political prisoners highlighted at NPC seminar

Islamabad: A seminar was organised, at the National Press Club, Islamabad, about the plight of illegally detained Hurriyat leaders and activists languishing in different jails of India and the territory, says a press release.

Organized by Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Forum France and Kashmir Media Service the speakers of the seminar highlighted the plight of illegally detained Hurriyat leaders and activists, including Masarat Alam Butt, Shabbir Ahmad Shah, Muhammad Yasin Malik, Dr Muhammad Qasim Fakhtoo, Asiya Andrabi, Naheeda Nasreen, Fahmida Sufi. They said that the rights of the detainees were determined in international law, the Geneva Convention and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. They said that despite the signing of these agreements and conventions, the Indian government was depriving the illegally detained Kashmiri Hurriyat leaders of their basic rights, including adequate food, medical treatment, fair trial and inhumane treatment of them in jails. The authorities are deliberately prolonging the illegal detention of the Hurriyat leaders, they added.

Referring to the recent reports of international human rights organizations and institutions, the speakers strongly condemned the inhuman treatment of the Kashmiri detainees in Indian jails. Expressing grief over the deaths of senior APHC leaders Syed Ali Gilani, Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai and Altaf Hussain Shah during illegal detention, they said that the Indian government was following the agenda of killing Kashmiri Hurriyat leaders and workers during their detention in jails.

The speakers further said that children were also being detained in occupied Jammu and Kashmir to weaken the freedom spirit of the Kashmiri people, which is a serious violation of international law. They said that international human rights organizations, including the United Nations Human Rights Council and relevant special representatives of international organizations, should take immediate notice of the plight of Kashmiri detainees in occupied Kashmir and hold Indian soldiers responsible for human rights violations.

The speakers emphasized that the illegally detained Hurriyat leaders and activists are political leaders and India should treat them in accordance with international law and international standards of human rights to ensure their rights and dignity. The speakers included Justice (Retd) Shah Khawar, Justice (Retd) Chaudhry Ejaz, Advocate Pervaiz Shah, Dr Gauhar, General Secretary of High Court Bar Association Advocate Shabbir Ahmad Mirza, Atiq Rasool Advocate, Dr Mujahid Gilani, Ahmed Bin Qasim, Chairman of Kashmir Institute of International Relations Altaf Hussain Wani, Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Forum, France, Mirza Asif Jaral, Sardar Abdul Raziq Advocate and Kashmiri Hurriyat leader Abdul Hameed Lone.