Srinagar, March 10: Dozens of Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) activists including Mukhtar Ahmad Sofi, Zahoor Ahmad Sheikh, Peer Inayatullah and Muhammad Yousuf were arrested in Srinagar while they were protesting against the continuous detention of party chairman Shabir Ahmad Shah.
A DFP spokesperson while condemning the arrests said the real leadership of state is deliberately put behind bars and their political activities banned. He said police by arresting the youths through continuous nocturnal raids is pushing them to the wall and playing with their career. “There is nothing like democracy in J&K and people are suffocated by the gun rule.”
In a statement to KNS, the spokesperson while terming the continuous detention of Shabir Ahmad Shah as unjustified said authorities have turned the whole state into a virtual jail.
Giving details of Shabir Ahmad Shah’s detention, the spokesperson said, “In 2016, Shah Sahib was kept under house arrest for 56 days and since February 24 continues to be lodged in Rajbagh police station. The state administration has no justification for such illegal detention.”
Meanwhile, the party’s district and provincial presidents and activists on Thursday held strong protest demonstrations demanding the release of Shabir Ahmad Shah.
On the occasion, DFP’s senior leader, Advocate Fayaz Ahmad Sodagar while talking to media termed Shah’s arrest as undemocratic saying authorities cannot yield anything by such arrests but the freedom movement will continue.
“Such suppressive measures don’t scare us.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp ChannelPeople are committed to the freedom movement and our youths are sacrificing their lives for the cause,” he said.
He also condemned the continuous house arrest of National Front chairman Nayeem Ahmad Khan, Peer Hafzullaha terming it injustice. He said several pro-freedom leaders and activists continue to languish in various States and outside jails including Tihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Jaipur.
“Masarat Alam Bhat, Dr Muhammad Qasim Faktoo, Muhammad Shafi Shariati, Ghulam Qadir, Feroz Ahmad, Noor Muhammad continue to be behind bars. In Jaipur jail, Abdul Gani Goni, Latief Ahmad Waja, Mehmood Topiwala, Mirza Nisar are serving imprisonment for last 21 years and are fabricated in false cases. In Tihar jail, Javaid Ahmad Khan, Tariq Ahmad Dar, Muhammad Rafiq and in UP jail, Gulzar Ahmad is serving detention since 16 years. All these political prisoners are the ambassadors of our movement,” he said.
Expressing resentment over the continuous detention of SAR Geelani, the spokesperson said India wants to suppress the voices of intellectuals who raise their voice against Indian forcible occupation of Kashmir. He also said that police has launched a crackdown on DFP members and activists through nocturnal raids. “PSA has been slapped on DFP’s Abdul Waheed (Langate) who has been shifted to Kot Bhalwal jail.”
The spokesperson also paid tributes to mujahedeen of Awantipora who achieved martyrdom while fighting Indian occupational forces on Wednesday. (KNS)