The All Parties Hurriyat Conference Azad Jammu and Kashmir (APHC-AJK) chapter has sought the urgent attention of the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha towards the increasing Indian state terrorism in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The APHC-AJK chapter in a letter addressed to the UN and OIC top officials said Indian authorities at the helm of affairs have intensified their state terrorism in the occupied territory, mainly targeting pro-freedom leaders, activists and civil society members who have been critical of the Modi government’s muscular policy.

Following is the text of the letter: I, on behalf of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), wish to seek your urgent attention towards the use of state repression in response to political dissent in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian occupation authorities at the helm of affairs have intensified its clamp down in the occupied territory of Jammu and Kashmir mainly to target pro-freedom leaders, activists and civil society members who have been critical of the Modi government’s muscular policy.

While this witch-hunt goes on unabated, the authorities have reopened cases against hundreds of political activists. They are summoned to police stations every now and then, harassed and humiliated and dragged to the courts far away from their homes. Arbitrary arrests of Kashmiri political leaders and activists and booking them under Draconian laws and leaving them to rot in jails and interrogation cells without producing in the court of law, denying them their fundamental right to defend their cases, getting them punished in fake and fabricated cases, awarding severe punishments such as death penalties, reopening old cases in which they have been already acquitted, and dragging them to the courts has become a new normal in Kashmir.

In fact, Modi’s extremist party-the BJP-which is losing its credibility due to its hardline policies, is desperate to regain its lost credibility and popularity among the masses and to ensure its success in the upcoming elections, now wants to make Kashmiris as scapegoats to save its shrinking vote bank. India’s so-called National Investigation Agency, the NIA’s bid to seek the death penalty for prominent Kashmiri leader Yasin Malik, is a part of the BJP government’s plan to regain popularity and win general elections scheduled to be held in 2024.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP