Srinagar: Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Wednesday hailed the goodwill gesture by India and Pakistan to release prisoners from their respective jails and called for use of such measures as permanent feature of relations between the two countries.
In a statement Geelani expressed his high hope that as the important parties to the Kashmir dispute both countries should use this well wishing attitude, in the first instance, to release all the prisoners belonging to Jammu and Kashmir, languishing in Indian jails.
Lamenting on the plight of Kashmiri prisoners at the hands of ‘barbaric jail authorities’ in and outside Jammu and Kashmir, Hurriyat chairman reiterated his stand that Kashmir is a pure political and humanitarian problem which is in dire need of an early resolution for the prosperous South Asia, therefore, the mutual well wishing gesture to release all the prisoners must include those Kashmiri prisoners languishing in the state and outside in Indian jails.
Taking a dig on the reluctance of India, not to allow the International Red Cross, Amnesty International or other human rights organizations to visit these jails and observe their pathetic condition, Hurriyat leader said that the illogical denial by India speaks volumes about the plight of Kashmiri prisoners.
Citing the delaying tactics to prolong the detention of such prisoners, by the Indian judiciary which tantamount to the brazen denial of justice, the veteran pro-freedom leader said that those incarcerated on fabricated and flimsy grounds face the hardships of unfair-trail in the respective courts of Law.
Without any hearing on the fixed dates, new dates at long intervals are fixed to add ordeal to the accused prisoners. There are hundreds of instances where, bail, detenue’s basic right is also denied for years together. Life imprisonment on the basis of political vendetta has become a routine matter in Jammu and Kashmir.
Making a fervent appeal to both the countries, especially India to shun its stubbornness, Hurriyat chairman said that let the two nuclear neighbours of South Asia turn a new leaf in their bilateral relations to sit together alongwith the people of Kashmir and resolve of Kashmir issue peacefully in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of the people of the Jammu and Kashmir.
