Srinagar, Jan 23: Hurriyat Conference (M) Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Monday said the verdict of a trail court of West Bengal, awarding death sentence to a Kashmiri youth, Muzaffar Ahmad Rather of Jogipora, Kulgam after being in jail for 14 continuous years was against the internationally accepted norms of Justice and fair play.
In a statement issued to KNS, stressing that the youth had been targeted just for being a Kashmiri, he said Indian judiciary had earlier too displayed miscarriage of justice in cases of Kashmiris and this was yet another addition to this long list.
Senior Hurriyat leader Mukhtar Ahmad Waza visited Jogipora, Kulgam and expressed solidarity with the youth’s parents and family and staged a protest demonstration against the verdict of awarding death sentence to him.
The Mirwaiz also called the youth’s parents over phone and while expressing solidarity with them said they should not feel alone in this hour of difficulty.
Condemning the large scale arrest of youth ahead of the Republic Day of India on January 26, Mirwaiz said youth in every part of Kashmir were being rounded up and arrested while people were being harassed by frisking them and their vehicles at every other corner and termed it as a murder of democratic norms and principles of humanity. Only in Baramulla town more than 30 youth were picked up by the police and forces on 22 January 2017.
Stressing that jails in and outside Jammu Kashmir were already packed with thousands of Kashmiri political prisoners, he said the arrest spree of the youth in the name of maintaining law and order amply illustrated the callous attitude of the ruling class towards Kashmiris.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel
The APHC Chairman said Hurriyat does not stand against any country celebrating its democracy and being republic, but the way democracy was being tarnished by using dictatorial means and people dealt brutally was not only condemnable but also an eye opener for people who believe in upholding human rights and democratic values.
Denouncing the detention of senior resistance leader and Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Chairman, Muhammad Yasin Malik for the past several days at Central Jail, Srinagar, he said arbitrarily arresting resistance leaders time and again shows the political vendetta the ruling class has for the resistance leadership.
The Mirwaiz said harassing the resistance leaders by arresting them frequently had now become a state policy although the ruling class does not stop bragging about the right to ‘freedom of expression’ and the ‘battle of ideologies’ while at the same time tries to stifle every voice of resistance.
Terming the strike called by transporters as just, the Mirwaiz said their demands were fair and reasonable which ought to be accepted. He called for protection of the rights of thousands of Kashmiris involved in this industry and cautioned against victimizing them as taxing them so heavily was equivalent to snatching their bread and butter, which was highly condemnable. (KNS)