New Delhi, April 20, 2022 (PPI-OT):The All Parties Hurriyat Conference incarcerated Vice Chairman, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, has expressed serious concern over the worsening political and human rights situation in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Shabbir Ahmed Shah in his message from New Delhi infamous Tihar jail deplored that the Indian government on one hand has given its forces’ personnel a freehand to kill innocent Kashmiris, while on the other, it is shamelessly using anti-terror laws to silence the legitimate political voices who have been critical to India’s hostile policies towards Kashmiris.
The APHC leader said that the systematic killing of civilians, particularly the youth, was a part of the Indian government’s deep-rooted conspiracy to change the demography of IIOJK. He said, innocent and educated youth are deliberately targeted and killed mercilessly by the Indian troops during the so-called cordon and search operations. He pointed out that the troops are not only killing innocent people but also blowing up residential houses and public properties.
Shabbir Shah denounced the use of brute force against the civilians and harassment of journalists by the Indian forces’ personnel. He said that it was shocking to see that civil society activists, journalists and rights defenders were detained under draconian laws and subjected to the worst treatment in jails and interrogation centres.
He termed it as flagrant violations of the Geneva Conventions and other world covenants. “Rights activists have always been at the receiving end. They are being arrested, tortured, humiliated and harassed by the Indian forces deployed in length and breadth of the valley,” he said, adding that the Indian Army had a long history of killing human rights activists in fake encounters.
The APHC leader also condemned the curbs on the freedom of the press and expression in IIOJK. He said, “Coercion, intimidation and harassment of political leaders, journalists, rights groups and civil society activists, has been a hallmark of the BJP government’s Kashmir policy.”
Shabbir Shah urged the world community to take cognizance of the rising human rights violations in IIOJK. It is high time that the global community must shun its policy of indifference and play its much-needed role to settle the lingering Kashmir dispute that happens to be main cause of bloodshed in the region, he added.
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