ISLAMABAD: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has strongly called for the immediate release of unlawfully detained Kashmiris, including the notable Human Rights Defender (HRD) Khurram Parvez.
As reported by Kashmir Media Service, Khurram Parvez marked two years in arbitrary detention today. His arrest in 2021 by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) was based on unknown charges, such as ‘Waging, or attempting to wage war, or abetting waging of war, against the Government of India.’ Subsequently, he was charged under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
In a statement issued in Srinagar, an APHC spokesperson lamented, “India is punishing Khurram Parvez for exposing human rights violations by Indian troops in occupied Kashmir.”
The spokesperson said, “Khurram Parvez’s arrest is yet another instance of the misuse of anti-terror laws to target the Kashmiri people.”
Highlighting the plight of numerous detainees, including APHC Chairman Masarrat Aalam Butt, the spokesman called the international community to intervene for the release of these individuals.
APHC leader Devinder Singh Behl, in a statement from Jammu, demanded India release all Kashmiri prisoners promptly. He appreciated the statement by the Caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan, Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, affirming that lasting peace in South Asia needs the resolution of the Kashmir dispute.
Behl said, “Pakistan has consistently provided political, diplomatic, and moral support for the just struggle of Kashmiris for the right to self-determination.”
Similarly, international human rights organizations, including the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), jointly condemned the prolonged illegal apprehension of Kashmiri journalist Irfan Mehraj and Khurram Parvez. —APP
