New Delhi: Members of India’s civil society, united under the Campaign Against State Repression (CASR), have called for the immediate release of four Kashmiri lawyers detained under the controversial Public Safety Act (PSA). The lawyers, Mian Abdul Qayoom, Nazir Ahmad Ronga, Muhammad Ashraf Butt, and Muzaffar Qayoom, were arrested for advocating a UN-supervised plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Kashmir Media Service, during a press conference in New Delhi, prominent figures such as filmmaker Sanjay Kak, civil rights activist Nandita Narain, and lawyers Colin Gonsalves and Prashant Bhushan voiced their disapproval of the Modi government’s policies in occupied Jammu and Kashmir. They criticized the administration for what they see as a clampdown on dissent and the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue.
The speakers compared the current oppressive measures in Kashmir to those during the Emergency era, highlighting the misuse of laws like the PSA and UAPA against activists and lawyers to suppress opposition. They also expressed concern over the Indian judiciary’s seeming incapacity to rectify or address these abuses.
The panel emphasized their solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir and reiterated their call for the release of the detained lawyers, urging the Indian government to respect human rights and legal standards.