All basic principles of democracy being ignored, says Mirwaiz
Srinagar: Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Friday stated that “all basic principles of humanity and democracy are being ignored” while prolonging the “illegal detention” of political prisoners by the government.
Addressing Friday gathering at the historic Jamia Masjid here, Mirwaiz said that hundreds of political prisoners including youth and resistance leaders were languishing in various prisons for years now.
He said that detainees were “supposed to be lodged closer to their homes as per the supreme court of India directions, but with Kashmiris a deliberate policy of punishment is being implemented by the authorities as they have been shifted from Kashmir prisons and lodged in various Indian Jails in soaring temperatures in Rajasthan, Kotbalwal, Jammu, Kathua, Haryana, and Tihar where scores of prisoners have fallen ill and are not being provided with proper medical aid”.
Mirwaiz said that senior leader and the chairman JKLF Muhammad Yasin Malik, who has not been keeping well since long, had of late, developed multiple ailments in prison.
He also said that other political prisoners including Shabir Shah, Advocate Shahidul Islam, Masrat Alam Bhat, were suffering from one ailment or the other due to their prolonged confinement.
Mirwaiz appealed the human rights organizations especially International Red Cross Committee and Amnesty International to visit the jails and “to take stock of the plight of Kashmiri prisoners who are in a sad state of affairs inside their jail cells”.
He said that the detention period of many Kashmiri prisoners booked under PSA was prolonged despite the courts quashing their PSAs as “within no time they are booked under another PSAs”.
Mirwaiz demanded the unconditional release of these prisoners and hundreds of youth who were being “punished for their political views to push the leadership and people into submission”.
He said that Kashmir issue was a reality and was lingering since 1947 and will continue to remain an issue until it is resolved politically involving all the parties.
Meanwhile, Mirwaiz also expressed grief over Thursday’s tragic accident at Peer Ki Gali on Mughal Road in which a school bus turned turtle and fell into a deep gorge resulting the death of over a dozen school children who were on a picnic.
Mirwaiz attributed the frequent road accident to the dilapidated roads and the failure of the authorities in timely repairing the crucial road links across Kashmir which are now becoming the death traps for common masses. He also urged people to follow safety measures while driving.
Mirwaiz prayed for the highest standards in Janah for all the deceased school children and expressed solidarity with the bereaved families.
KV News
