All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has expressed great concern and regret over the continuous imprisonment of Kashmiri political leadership, activists, youth and others in Jammu and Kashmir and other jails of India.
APHC in a statement issued here said that Advocate Shahid-ul-Islam, Altaf Ahmad Shah, Nayeem Ahmed Khan, Ayaz Akbar, Pir Saifullah, Raja Merajuddin Kalwal, Farooq Ahmad Dar, Syed Shahid Yusuf, Syed Shakeel Ahmed, Aasiya Andrabi, Fehmeeda Sofi, Nahida Nasreen, Er Rasheed, Zahoor Ahmed Watali and others have completed four years of imprisonment in Delhi’s Tihar Jail.
It said the health condition of Shahid-ul-Islam, who is in Tihar Jail, is “extremely bad” and his wife and young daughters were facing multiple difficulties and hardships including psychological issues.
“It (is) tragic that for such a long period of time, these prisoners are being detained and are languishing in jails mostly for their political outlook while there is a deliberate delay in hearing of cases against them in courts,” the APHC said. “In the last four years not even once have their cases come up for hearing. It is as if their fundamental human rights cease to exist in an authoritarian environment.”
Similarly Muhammad Yasin Malik is in jail for more than two years now and Shabir Ahmad Shah for more than four years, it said.
APHC has appealed to the citizens and the rights organisations of India as well as the international human rights bodies and all the nations across the globe “who believe in human rights and justice” to raise their voice for immediate and honourable release of Jammu and Kashmir’s political leaders, activists, youth and others who remain incarcerated for years now.
The Hurriyat Conference also paid rich tribute to Sheikh Abdul Aziz on his 13th anniversary and reiterated its commitment to continue seeking peaceful and just resolution of the Kashmir issue.
The APHC also expressed its concern over NIA’s repeated raids across the Valley on those affiliated with Jamaat-e-Islami.
