Srinagar: Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) comprising of Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Muhammad Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik in a statement issued to media toady said that persecuting families of opponents is nothing but cowardice and spree of arrests and imposition of hardships on those in jails for holding a political view contrary to that of rulers is despotism.
Terming the ongoing ‘spree of arrests and nocturnal raids as most undemocratic’, JRL said that from southern districts of Kashmir to northern districts and central Kashmir, a spree of arrests is going on unabated and thousands of young and old are being put behind bars and tortured physically and mentally. Leadership said that some months back, DG of police issued a statement and urged upon warring parties to not involve families into their hostilities. Even JRL at that time echoed same assertions and urged everyone spare families. But Today villages, towns and localities of Kashmir especially in southern districts of Kashmir are witnessing a reign of fresh arrests wherein family members of those in armed and political struggle are being arrested, tortured and humiliated by police, SOG and other forces.
JRL said that Kashmiris lodged at Tihar Delhi are also facing same torture.
“Syeda Asiya Andrabi, Fahmida Sofi and Naheeda Nasreen who were recently shifted to this Jail have been put into different cells where they are not even allowed to walk for some minutes. These ailing ladies are being provided eatables in polythene bags and their request to get some plastic plate or mug have been rejected by jail authorities. Similarly in other barracks where Syed Shabir Ahmad Shah, Altaf Ahmad Shah, Shahid-ul-Islam, Ayaz Akbar, Peer Saif-u-ullah, Raja Meraj-u-Din Kalwal, Nayeem Ahmed Khan, Farooq Ahmed Dar, Zahoor Ahmad Watali, and Shahid Yousuf Shah, Muhammad Aslam Wani, Muzafar Ahmad Dar have been kept, water scarcity, lack of electricity in these hot months, lack of medicines and poor quality of food has made lives of inmates miserable,” said the JRL in the statement.
The statement said that as Eid ul Azha is approaching, this spree of arrests has taken an ugly turn and at a time when families of inmates are expecting the release of their dear ones, jails and police stations are being filled up with more and more Kashmiris.
JRL said that international community, human rights organizations like amnesty international, ICRC and UN human rights commission need to take a strong note of these atrocities being committed upon Kashmiri prisoners and intervene to save the lines of these poor inmates.
