The All Parties Hurriyat Conference has expressed deep concern over the dire plight of Kashmiris languishing in Indian jails and appealed to the United Nations and international human rights organizations to take urgent action for their release. 

According to Kashmir Media Service, APHC spokesman Advocate Abdul Rashid Minhas, in a statement in Srinagar, said that over 3,000 political prisoners, including APHC leaders and activists, have been incarcerated solely for their political beliefs and opposition to Indian policies in the occupied territory. 

The statement highlighted that detainees are routinely denied basic amenities, including proper medical care and hygienic food. The APHC accused Indian authorities of misusing investigating agencies such as the National Investigation Agency (NIA), State Investigation Agency (SIA), and Enforcement Directorate (ED) as tools to victimize Kashmiris. 

The APHC called for the immediate release of illegally detained Hurriyat leaders, including APHC Chairman Masarrat Alam Butt, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, Muhammad Yasin Malik, Syed Aasiya Andrabi, Fehmeeda Sofi, Naheeda Nasreen, Nayeem Ahmed Khan, Ayaz Akbar, Peer Saifullah, Raja Merajuddin Kalwal, Farooq Ahmed Dar, Shahid-ul-Islam, Molvi Bashir Ahmed, Bilal Ahmed Siddiqi, Mushtaq-ul-Islam, and Advocate Mia Abdul Qayoom, among others.

The spokesman said the steadfastness of Kashmiris in their just struggle for the right to self-determination will ultimately succeed, and that their valiant resistance against Indian oppression will be remembered as a golden chapter in the history of Kashmir, while India’s brutal repression will be recorded as tyranny. 

The APHC urged the UN Secretary-General, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and other international human rights bodies to take immediate cognizance of the plight of the detainees and play a decisive role in securing their release.  

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)