Stopping us to travel to Delhi exposes NIA investigation: JRL
Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) Saturday condemned the arrest of Mohammad Yasin Malik and house arrest of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and continuous detention of Syed Ali Geelani.
JRL according to the statement issued here also condemned the sealing of all roads to their residences and imposition of curfew and strict restriction in parts of Srinagar by the authorities, to disallow the leadership from going to New Delhi regarding the persecution and intimidation of the people from all walks of life and the leadership by the government through the NIA, and to court arrest at their headquarters to put an end to it.
The leadership including Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik said that this move completely exposes the investigation and its actual purpose. “If we ourselves volunteered to go to Delhi and let the investigating agency arrest them and ask them regarding the charges leveled against their organizations and the people’s political movement, why were we barred?,” the leadership asked.
They said that especially when the government yesterday made tall claims of everyone being free to go anywhere, and released Mirwaiz from house arrest and Malik from jail.
JRL said that stopping the resistance leadership from courtingarrest, giving contradictory statements and creating a law and order bogey, the administration has exposed themselves and their bluff.
They said NIA should put an immediate end to this harassment, adding that it becomes quite evident that along with brute military force the Indian state is deploying all its institutions to crush our movement.
“For the past three months repeated raids, notices and arrests by the NIA-an unaccountable machinery unleashed upon Kashmiris from different segments of society including political activists, our relatives and associates , lawyers, businessmen journalists students and others is being carried out to intimidate and instill fear among the masses while simultaneously an all out vicious and venomous propaganda campaign to defame and malign leadership and the peoples political struggle is being aggressively pursued by electronic print and social media,” they said.
“Lies and falsehoods about us and the people’s political struggle promoted and spread. Our just and legitimate indigenous political movement for which people have given extreme sacrifices, branded as sponsored and linked to terrorism and monetary benefits. We, our activists and those associated with the movement abused and vilified and accused of being associated with the sacred movement for monetary gains,” they said, adding that all this is being done under a ploy to change the narrative on the Kashmir dispute, demoralize and disillusion the people regarding their internationally recognized and legitimate political struggle and their leadership while misleading the Indian masses about the reality of Kashmir and the ground situation here.
JRL said that let it be known to all that leadership is ready to face every hardship for the sake of the sacred peoples movement, but there is no question that we can be pressurized to move away from the path of seeking justice and resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the people’s aspirations and wishes.
The leadership also condemned the house arrest of human rights activist SAR Geelani by Delhi police, who according to police was presumably coming to the airport to receive them.
Meanwhile, JRL reiterated the strike call for tomorrow in keeping with the Indian Home ministers visit and appealed people to stay resolute and steadfast.
KV Correspondent
