KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
The voices for release of noted human rights defender, Khurram Parvez, are getting shriller as on Friday one of the top newspapers wrote an editorial seeking his immediate release.
Khurram was arrested by police around 12:30 AM on September 15, 2016 and was subsequently booked under ‘lawless law’ – Public Safety Act although a Srinagar court had ordered his release setting aside one of the charges under which he arrested on Wednesday-Thursday night (15/16 Sep, 2016).
“Demands for retaliation are growing in India after a deadly attack by armed militants that killed 18 Indian soldiers early Sunday morning at a base in the Kashmir region controlled by India near the border with Pakistan… Pakistan has denied involvement,” wrote New York Times (NYT) in its Friday editorial (by The Editorial Board Sept. 23, 2016).
Referring to two wars fought by nuclear armed India and Pakistan over Kashmir, the NYT edit said, “it would be disastrous if the current situation escalated into a full-fledged military confrontation. A retaliatory strike by India against Pakistan risks doing just that.”
Taking a dig at Ram Madhav, who stitched PDP-BJP alliance twice since 2015 March, the NYT said, “it is highly irresponsible for the national general secretary of Mr. Modi’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party to urge, as he did on Facebook after the attack: For one tooth, the complete jaw. Days of so-called strategic restraint are over.”
However, the NYT cautioned that this was “no time” for India to “damage” the confidence of the international investors Mr. Modi has been assiduously wooing; “they would certainly be spooked by a widening conflict” with Pakistan.
“In the meantime,” the top United States Newspaper said, “Indian security forces have been battling with civilians protesting India’s military presence in Indian-administered Kashmir since July, with more than 80 people killed and thousands wounded — including many blinded by pellet guns. Mr. Modi’s government further inflamed the situation by blocking a Kashmir rights activist, Khurram Parvez, from flying to Geneva last week to attend a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council.”
Demanding Khurram’s release, the NYT added, “Mr. Parvez, who was subsequently detained on spurious charges, should be released and allowed to travel.”
“Only a durable political solution can bring peace to the Indian side of Kashmir. As for reducing cross-border conflict between India and Pakistan, a lot depends on whether Pakistan, which receives military aid from the United States, can be persuaded to stop expanding its nuclear arsenal and sponsoring terrorist groups that threaten the region,” the edit concluded.
Khurram Parvez, who lost one of his legs in a mine blast in 2004 April during election monitoring, was shifted to Kotbalwal jail Jammu on September 21 late ngiht, at least 300 KM way from his home. Under PSA, a person is detained without trial for at least six months and the detention period extends to two years.
