Srinagar: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has apprehended that India may further victimize the Kashmiri people, including the incarcerated Hurriyat leadership, and malign their legitimate demand for a plebiscite by portraying it through anti-India and terrorism-related narratives.
According to Beyond the Time News, APHC spokesman Advocate Abdul Rashid Minhas in a statement issued in Srinagar said the Hurriyat rejects all forms of terrorism, whether perpetrated by civic or uniformed personnel, and asserted that terrorism has no place in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
He said New Delhi is attempting, through manufactured narratives, to link the Kashmiris’ demand for an UN-mandated plebiscite and their right to self-determination with terrorism and anti-India activities. It appears Indian policy-makers with an RSS mindset are using such propaganda to cover up crimes committed by Indian forces and agencies under draconian laws in the disputed territory, he added.
The APHC condemned the harassment and summoning of youth, activists, and journalists to police stations by Indian police and agencies, stating that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Indian government is following in the footsteps of the Nazis and attempts to crush Kashmiri sentiments and silence voices demanding political justice and a plebiscite.
It said New Delhi has no moral or constitutional justification to celebrate its Republic Day in disputed Jammu and Kashmir, as it is occupying the territory against the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. It said the Indian government has deprived the people of Kashmir of their inalienable right to self-determination through a plebiscite.
The APHC maintained that India cannot prolong its occupation of Kashmir, as Kashmiris are determined to continue their struggle until complete success is achieved.
Meanwhile, posters appeared in different areas of the territory, urging people to observe Black Day on January 26, India’s Republic Day, to register their protest against the illegal occupation of their motherland. The posters state that Indian democracy is a farce and that New Delhi’s illegal, undemocratic, and repressive measures in IIOJK should serve as an eye-opener for the international community. They add that detention cannot break the resolve of Hurriyat leaders, who remain determined to continue the struggle for securing the Kashmiris’ right to self-determination.
The APHC also appealed to world powers and international human rights organizations to take cognizance of the continued illegal imprisonment of thousands of Kashmiris, including APHC Chairman Masarrat Alam Butt, Shabbir Ahmad Shah, Muhammad Yasin Malik, Aasiya Andrabi, Naheeda Nasreen, Fahmeeda Sofi, Nayeem Ahmad Khan, Ayaz Akbar, Pir Saifullah, Merajuddin Kalwal, Shahid-ul-Islam, Farooq Ahmad Dar, Mushtaq-ul-Islam, Bilal Siddiqi, Molvi Bashir Irfani, Dr Hameed Fayaz, Advocate Mian Abdul Qayoom, Zaffar Akbar Butt, Dr Muhammad Qasim Fakhtoo, Dr Muhammad Shafi Shariati, Rafiq Ahmad Ganai, Fayaz Hussain Jafferi, Zahoor Ahmad Butt, Umar Adil Dar, Saleem Nanaji, Muhammad Yasin Butt, Noor Muhammad Fayaz, and human rights defender Khurram Parvez, who have long been lodged in various jails across India and IIOJK on political grounds.
