The Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party has taken strong exception to an National Investigation Agency court’s decision extending the remand of its president, Shabbir Ahmad Shah, by 10 more days in a three-decade-old case. According to Kashmir Media Service, DFP spokesman Advocate Arshad Iqbal in a statement in Srinagar termed the extension “sheer injustice,” noting Shah has already spent eight years in Tihar Jail in a “fake and fabricated” NIA case.

He said the agency was using a “revolving door” detention system to silence legitimate political voices despite failing to provide substantial evidence before a court of law.  Iqbal added that the court’s fresh directives were against the spirit of the higher judiciary’s verdict that had granted Shah bail and ordered his release.  The spokesman also condemned the closure of religious institutions in Shopian and other areas, calling it an assault on educational and religious rights of Kashmiris.  

He urged the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to take serious notice and play its role in stopping violations of Kashmiris’ religious rights by Indian authorities.   Meanwhile, National Conference leader Agha Ruhullah slammed the UAPA ban on Jamia Siraj-ul-Uloom, calling it the latest act in a “calculated dismantling of Kashmir’s civic life.”

He said the J&K Board-affiliated school with over 800 students has produced doctors, scholars, and professionals from underprivileged homes and was sealed by a divisional commissioner’s two-page order. “The pattern is unmistakable. Trusts, mosques, libraries, and now seminaries serving underprivileged children — every social and non-governmental institution that holds Kashmiri society together is being strangled,” Ruhullah said.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)