Demanding the immediate release of thousands of political prisoners lodged in various jails in and outside the Kashmir, Hurriyat (M) on Wednesday demanded the unconditional release of all the prisoners before the Eid-ul-Fitr stating that the plight of Kashmiri prisoners was disappointing as they are being meted out ill-treatment.
Hurriyat (M) said that people irrespective of their age as from 80-year-old to minors to women, continue to remain lodged in various prisons and the majority of them are without trial and deprived for the all the basic facilities guaranteed in their respective jail manual.
The Hurriyat said that prolonging the detention of prisoners is nothing but a political vendetta to break their resolve but time has proved that all the inmates have shown a tremendous courage and patience despite remaining in prisons for decades together.
The Hurriyat said in Kashmir, ultimate repression is being unleashed through” military might” to muzzle the rights of people and to force them into a submission. It said that Kashmiri prisoners lodged in various prisons that include Kotbalwal, Central Jail Srinagar, Tihar Jail Delhi, Udhampur, Kathua, Hira Nagar and other prisons are facing tremendous hardships and even basic healthcare is not available to them.
The Hurriyat said that the height is that Kashmiri prisoners are being kept with the hardcore criminals thereby raising the risk of them being getting killed or injured as seen a few months back in New Delhi’s Tihar Jail. It said that to crush the sacred struggle of Kashmir, Delhi let loose NIA and ED to arrest resistance leaders that include Shabir Ahmed Shah, Altaf Ahmed Shah, Advocate Shahid ul Islam, Ayaz Akbar, Peer Saifullah, Raja Mehrajudin Kalwal, Nayeem Ahmed Khan, Farooq Ahmed Dar, Zahoor Ahmed Watali, Shahid Yousuf Shah and others who have been framed in fictitious cases and continue to lodged in Tihar Jail without any justification and trial.
The Hurriyat said likewise, there are hundreds of prisoners, who are lodged in various prisons since past over ten, and twenty years that include Muhammad Qasim Fakhtoo, Dr Muhammad Shafi Shearti, Ghulam Qadir Bhat, Nazir Ahmed Sheikh, Showkat Ahmed Khan, Abdul Gani Goni, Lateef Ahmed Waza, Javaid Ahmed Khan, Mehmood Topi Wala, Iftikhar Mirza, Feroz Ahmed, Pervez Ahmed Tariq Ahmed Manzoor Ahmed, Muhammad Aslam Wani, Muzafar Ahmed Dar Muhammad Ayoub Mirza, Nisar Hussain, Lateef Ahmed Waza, Muhammad Lateef Budgami and dozens others who continued to stay lodged miles away from their homes in scorching heat. The Hurriyat said the other political prisoners that include Masrat Alam Bhat, Sirajudin Mir, Abdul Rashid Mughloo, Mir Hafzuallh, Muhammad Yousuf Falahi, Ameer Hamza, Muhammad Yosuuf Mir, Tariq Ahmed Dar, Moulana Sarjan Barkati, Asadullah Parray, Shaokat Hakeem, Ghulam Muhammad Khan Sopori, Muhammad Ramzan Khan, Bilal Ahmed Kota, Farooq Towheedi, Ali Muhammad Bhat, Muhammad Yosuf Mir, Shakeel Ahmed Bhat, Abdul Gani, Muhammad Subhan Wani, and others who have been booked under draconian PSA and continue to languish in prisons and various police stations.
The Hurriyat said 18 youth who belong to downtown, also continues to remain behind the bars. Similarly, the Hurriyat said that woman resistance leader Asiya Andrabi and her close aide, Fehmeeda Sofi also continues to remain lodged in the prison. It said that leaders that include Sirajudin Mir and Abdur Rashid Mughloo too have been slapped with PSA and are languishing in Kotbalwal Jail while as Sheikh Nazir Ahmed is also being forced to spend life in the prison.
The Hurriyat appealed international community and world human rights bodies to take cognizance of the plight of Kashmiri prisoners and to play their role in ensuring their release by building pressure on the GoI and also help stop the ill-treatment to these prisoners.
