In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party has called for urgent international intervention to protect lives of thousands of Kashmiri political prisoners remain cut off from their families and are languishing in distant Indian jails. According to Kashmir Media Service, DFP spokesperson Advocate Arshad Iqbal in a statement issued in Srinagar said the ongoing wave of arrests, raids on homes and seizure of Kashmiris’ properties are aimed at suppressing their political voice and creating an atmosphere of fear and intimidation across the occupied territory.   

He said among those incarcerated in different jails across India include Shabbir Ahmed Shah, Muhammad Yasin Malik, Aasiya Andrabi, Masarrat Aalam Butt, Dr Hameed Fayaz, Muhammad Qasim Faktoo, Zafar Akbar Butt, Naeem Ahmad Khan and Advocate Mian Abdul Qayoom, former President of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association. Arshad Iqbal said Kashmiri prisoners lodged in Tihar, Agra and other distant Indian jails were facing extreme heat, inadequate medical facilities, prolonged separation from their families and other basic hardships. He said the situation of sick, elderly and long-term prisoners was particularly alarming.

The DFP appealed to Amnesty International, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the United Nations and other international human rights organisations to take immediate notice of the plight of Kashmiri political prisoners and press India to respect their fundamental rights and human dignity. The DFP spokesperson specifically called for independent and unhindered access for the ICRC to Indian prisons to assess the medical, living and overall detention conditions of Kashmiri prisoners and meet them privately.

He also urged international human rights organisations to independently monitor and document arrests, raids and property seizures in Jammu and Kashmir, stressing that such actions should not take place beyond international scrutiny.   “Kashmiri political prisoners and thousands of detainees must not be forgotten,” Arshad Iqbal said, appealing to the international community not to remain silent and to act urgently to protect their lives, health, human dignity and fundamental rights. 

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)