Islamabad, September 13, 2021 (PPI-OT):Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) has made a passionate appeal to the United Nations and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to use their influence to stop Indian government from suppressing voices of dissent in illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir by suing draconian laws such as Public Safety Act (PSA) and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
In a communique addressed to the world leaders, the DFP Acting Chairman, Mehmood Ahmed Saghar, voiced his party’s serious concern over the brutal use of draconian laws by the Indian state to suppress voices of dissent in the occupied territory.
“The use and abuse of power by the Indian authorities at the helm of affairs in Jammu and Kashmir has pushed the region further into a quagmire of uncertainty and lawlessness”, the letter said adding that the state of absolute lawlessness over the past several years has led to further deterioration of political and human rights in the restive region.
“The Indian government has been remorselessly using draconian laws such as Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Public Safety Act (PSA) to choke every dissenting voice in Kashmir”, the letter said adding that on one hand the Indian authorities have detained thousands of political activists under the PSA while on the other the UAPA is being used to ban political organizations, silence political activists, journalists, media, human rights defenders and members of civil society who were critical of the Indian government’s repressive policies.
Since 5th August 2019, the letter underscored, the Indian authorities have banned a number of social and political organizations including Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front and Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir. Referring to a recently published news report, Saghar said that the Indian government was planning to black list All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) – a political conglomerate that seeks peaceful resolution of Kashmir dispute through dialogue and diplomacy.
The move fraught with serious political ramifications, he said, was yet another attempt to choke every dissenting voice in the region. “The APHC is a legitimate political forum that represents the political aspirations of a vast majority of the people in Jammu and Kashmir”, he added. Terming the APHC as a legitimate political platform, he said, “It is a world recognized forum that enjoys special observer status in the OIC”.
“Any attempt to blacklist the amalgam under black law would be tantamount to pushing Kashmiris to violence and deprive Kashmiris of their voice”, Saghar maintained. He appealed to the world leader to use their good office and influence the government of India to cease the use and abuse of force to suppress Kashmiris legitimate freedom struggle, put an end to use of PSA, a lawless law to detain Kashmiri political leaders and activists and stop using UAPA-the draconian law to suppress legitimate political voices in Kashmir and banning political activities in the region.
Meanwhile, the DFP spokesman in a separate statement lambasted the Indian authorities’ callous indifference towards the sufferings of the bereaved family of the late veteran Hurriyat leader, Syed Ali Gilani. “On one hand the occupation authorities deprived family members and relatives of Syed Ali Gilani from biding an honourable farewell to the deceased leader while on the other they are being held under duress, intimated and harassed by filing baseless cases against them under the draconian laws enforced in the territory”, the spokesman said adding that it was high time that the world human rights bodies should take notice of the Indian occupation authorities’ highhandedness and insanity. The spokesman also expressed concern over intimidation and harassment of political activists, journalists, rights groups and civil society activists in the occupied territory.
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