Islamabad, January 21, 2022 (PPI-OT):Legal Forum for Kashmir launched a comprehensive dossier on Pakistani prisoner, Zia Mustafa’s extrajudicial execution in a staged encounter in Poonch district of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The dossier exposes the lies of Indian occupational forces on Zia’s involvement in militancy. As per the dossier, Zia Mustafa 15-year-old from Rawalakot AJK inadvertently crossed the LoC on January 13, 2003 and was arrested by the Indian forces. The family members of Zia Mustafa lodged a missing report before the concerned police station.
While the Indian army and police led by the then Director General IIOJK Police, A.K. Suri, in a joint press conference on 11 April 2003 projected and presented Zia as a foreign militant involved in so-called terror incident. However, the dossier reports that Zia was a minor when he crossed over the border unknowingly and was later falsely implicated in militancy by the Indian forces and agencies.
The LKF report further states the trial court in Shopian (IIOJK) framed charges against Zia under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and black laws. However, the state out of prosecution witnesses failed to produce a single piece of evidence against Zia. Accordingly, the court closed the prosecution evidence. The authorities in IIOJK filed a criminal appeal before the High Court Srinagar wing, which was meritless and accordingly dismissed by the court.
The authorities again approached the Supreme Court of India and filed a criminal appeal with the condonation of delay application which is still pending. Zia’s lawyer Mubashir Gattoo while talking to local media said, “Zia an under-trial for 17 years was facing a case before session’s court, but there was no evidence for his conviction”.
The dossier highlights the extra-judicial execution of an under-trial who was in a judicial custody when the joint counter-insurgent group including Indian army without following the mandate of law took Zia outside the jail and killed him in a staged encounter. It also revealed the important documents showing Zia a minor boy at the date of his arrest, moreover, the prisoners list exchanged by the foreign offices listed Zia an under-trial prisoner. The dossier also highlights the 111 fake encounters and the perpetrators involved in these war crimes.
Meanwhile, LFK held a roundtable debate inviting law experts and key stakeholders on the ‘universal jurisdiction’ case submitted before the metropolitan war crime unit in the UK. The experts hailed the efforts of Stoke White Investigation unit for filing a suit against the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and other six Indian officials responsible for torture and extra-judicial killing of the duo.
Hakan Camus head of Stoke White hoped the request to British police seeking the arrest of Indian officials will be followed by other legal actions also focusing on Kashmir. We are sure this is not going to be the last one, there will probably be many more applications, he said. Prof Dr Muhammad Mushtaq, former Director General Shariah Academy, eulogized the remarkable work of Stoke White and also pitched for constitution of war crime tribunal for the case of war crimes and crimes against humanity in IIOJK.
Towards the end, Executive Director Legal Forum for Kashmir, Nasir Qadri, said, this is the beginning of Lawfare against the occupier and his organization would further pursue the war crime cases to different available forums so that the perpetrators involved are apprehended for their crimes. He further said that Kashmir has faced worst human carnage for the last 74 years and the international community can no longer be spectators to India’s atrocity crimes and impunity.
For more information, contact:
Kashmir Media Service
Phone: +92-51-4435548, +92-51-4435549
Fax: +92-51-4861736
Email: info@kmsnews.org
Website: www.kmsnews.org