OCCUPIED SRINAGAR: Illegally detained Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Masarrat Aalam Butt, Sunday extended Eidul-Adha greetings to the entire Muslim world, particularly the oppressed people of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir and Palestine.
According to Kashmir Media Service, in a special message from notorious Tihar Jail in New Delhi on the eve of Eidul-Azha, which was released in occupied Srinagar, Sunday, Masarrat Aalam Butt deplored that the two oppressive colonial powers, India and Israel, were inflicting the worst atrocities on the people of IIOJK and Palestine for resisting illegal occupation of their lands.
He prayed for the immediate liberation of the Kashmiris and Palestinians from the illegal domination of the occupying regimes. The APHC chairman urged the Kashmiris to prioritize the needs of martyrs’ families, detained Kashmiris, and other victims of Indian state terrorism, emphasizing the importance of sacrifice and simplicity during Eidul-Adha.
Meanwhile, APHC spokesman Advocate Abdul Rashid Minhas in a statement in Occupied Srinagar strongly condemned the Modi regime’s decision to force all schools in IIOJK to sing India’s national anthem during morning assemblies.
The statement said that the move aims to suppress the territory’s Islamic identity and impose Hindutva ideology on the Muslim-majority population. The spokesman urged the United Nations and other global organizations to intervene and take notice of New Delhi’s colonial measures.
On the other hand, Indian army, paramilitary and police personnel have intensified their violent cordon and search operations and house raids across various districts of IIOJK, sparking widespread concern and fear among the local population.
Over 100 people have been arrested in the last few days, with operations ongoing in multiple villages and towns of Doda, Reasi, Kathua, Samba, Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu region and Islamabad, Shopian, Kulgam, Pulwama, Kupwara, Baramulla and Bandipora districts of the Kashmir Valley. Residents of many areas have shared with the media accounts of harassment, intimidation and torture at the hands of the Indian troops, likening their lives to a living hell.
Additionally, the National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party have expressed strong disapproval of the Indian authorities’ decision to prosecute renowned Indian author Arundhati Roy and Kashmiri scholar Sheikh Showkat Hussain under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for their speeches at an event in Delhi, fourteen years ago.
In their statements in Srinagar, the two parties from IIOJK criticized the use of stringent laws to suppress dissent and criminalize speech, calling it deeply concerning.
The FIR against Arundhati Roy and Sheikh Showkat was registered in October 2010, on the basis of a complaint by Kashmiri Hindu rightwing activist, Sushil Pandit, following orders by the Court of the Metropolitan Magistrate, New Delhi.