CPI-M leader and MLA Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami has urged the authorities to shift Kashmiri prisoners lodged in jails outside Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir back to local prisons within the Valley. According to Kashmir Media Service, speaking during the Zero Hour of the Autumn Session of the IIOJK Legislative Assembly in Srinagar, Tarigami said that the continued detention of Kashmiri prisoners away from home was causing immense hardship to their families. 

He said there was no shortage of prisons in Kashmir and, if required, more facilities should be built to accommodate detainees locally. Raising the issue, Tarigami said he had received an urgent call from the family of illegally detained senior APHC leader Shabbir Shah, expressing deep distress over his deteriorating health condition. “I got a call from Shabbir Shah’s family, who are extremely worried and said his condition is critical in Tihar Jail,” he added.

 “Even in the most notorious dictatorships, families are allowed to meet prisoners,” Tarigami said, adding that keeping detainees outside Kashmir denies their families this basic right. He urged the government to review its policy and ensure that prisoners from Jammu and Kashmir are kept within the region to allow regular family visits. 

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)