Pakistan denounces fresh curbs on political parties of occupied Kashmir

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday denounced the Indian authorities’ decision to declare several political parties of India-occupied Kashmir as “unlawful associations”.

In a statement, the Foreign Office said: “Pakistan denounces the Indian authorities’ decision to declare the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Freedom League (JKPFL) and four factions of Jammu and Kashmir Peoples League (JKPL) as unlawful associations.”

It also denounced the decision to extend the ban on Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (Mohd Yasin Malik faction) for five more years.

With the fresh notifications, a total of 14 Kashmiri political parties have become outlawed in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). The affiliates of these parties are also facing persecution.

The statement recalled that a death penalty had been sought for Yasin Malik, the JKLF chief who was awarded a life sentence in 2022.

“However, such oppressive tactics cannot suppress the Kashmiri people’s aspirations for realization of their inalienable right to self-determination, as enshrined in the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions,” it added.

“India’s ongoing campaign to crush dissent in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) contravenes the international human rights and humanitarian law as well as democratic norms,” it noted.

The foreign office urged the government of India urged to lift the curbs on the banned Kashmiri parties; release all the political prisoners, including Mr Yasin Malik; and implement the UN Security Council resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir.