Pakistan urges easing of Kashmir restrictions, release of political prisoners

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday expressed deep concern over “continued restrictions” in the Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K) despite so many confirmed COVID-19 cases and two deaths from the disease reported in the region.

“Thousands of Kashmiri youth, members of civil society, journalists and Kashmiri leaders remain incarcerated in Indian prisons, many of them at undisclosed locations and away from their families,” Foreign Office spokesperson Ayesha Farooqui said in a statement.

“The Indian forces continue to operate in the occupied territory with complete impunity under draconian laws such as Public Safety Act (PSA) and Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA).”

She lamented the senior Hurriyat leadership is under detention at homes or in different prisons.

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“Hurriyat leaders Yasin Malik, Asia Andrabi and others are languishing in Indian jails under fake charges without a free or fair trial. Yasin Malik, already suffering from deteriorating health, has threatened an indefinite hunger strike to protest against a false charge sheet by the Indian government in a 30-year old case,” she said.

“While the world is fighting the worst global health emergency, over 900,000 Indian military and para-military occupation troops continue adding to the suffering of innocent Kashmiris.”

“The international community, cognizant of the worst human rights violations and the atrocities being perpetrated by India in IoJ&K, must urgently demand from India the lifting of communication restrictions and allowing unfettered access to medical and other essential supplies,” the statement read.

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“The Indian government must also be urged to immediately allow release of all political prisoners from Indian jails, end incarceration of Kashmiri leaders including the senior All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leadership, restore full Internet facility in the entire occupied region, remove PSA and other draconian laws, and withdraw occupation forces from the IoJ&K.”

For its part, the Foreign Office reiterated Pakistan will continue supporting its Kashmiri brethren in their rightful struggle against Indian oppression till the realisation of their inalienable right to self-determination as enshrined in the United Nations Security Council Resolutions.