The Jammu Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party has expressed serious concern over the adjournment of the bail plea of its incarcerated chairman, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, pending before the Delhi High Court, terming it a deliberate attempt to prolong the case.  According to Kashmir Media Service, DFP spokesman Advocate Arshad Iqbal, in a statement issued in Srinagar, said the repeated adjournments reflect an age-old tactic aimed at keeping Kashmiri leaders behind bars without timely judicial relief.

He said such delays expose the biased and discriminatory approach of Indian courts in cases involving Kashmiri political prisoners, where due process is routinely compromised.  The spokesman maintained that prolonged incarceration without adjudication has become a systematic tool to punish Kashmiri leaders for their political beliefs, denying them basic legal rights guaranteed under the law.

He said that instead of dispensing justice impartially, Indian courts often facilitate state narratives, turning legal proceedings into instruments of political repression.  Advocate Arshad Iqbal said the overall situation in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir continues to deteriorate, with thousands of political activists and youth languishing in far-off jails under draconian laws.

He added that detainees are subjected to inhuman conditions, denial of medical care, and prolonged solitary confinement, while being deliberately kept away from their homes to break their morale.  He further said the suffering extends beyond the prisoners, as their families—especially elderly parents, women, and children—are forced to endure severe emotional, financial, and psychological trauma due to restricted access, costly travel, and constant uncertainty about the well-being of their loved ones. 

The DFP spokesman appealed to international human rights organizations, including the United Nations and global civil society, to take serious notice of the grave human rights violations in the occupied territory. He urged them to use their moral and diplomatic influence to press India to end arbitrary detentions, ensure fair and timely trials for Kashmiri political prisoners, and uphold international human rights and humanitarian law in Jammu and Kashmir. 

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)