All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) led by incarcerated Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, expressed grave concern over the “situation in Jammu Kashmir, getting more and more repressive with each passing day”.
APHC said in a statement: “Day in and out extreme laws are introduced to further curb people’s freedom and intimidate them into silence through fear of retribution. Sudden dismissals of Government employees without any investigation or being given a chance to be heard is part of this policy as six more government employees have been sacked by the ruling dispensation.”
The pro freedom organization added that as a large segment of J-K population is working in the government sector and “these laws are meant to silence them into submission, crush their freedom of expression and speech and quell any kind of dissent”. APHC “strongly denounces this dictatorial approach to deal with people’s aspirations, as it only creates more dissent and anger”.
APHC emphasized on “targeting and harassing” local media persons. “Local media and media houses are also continuously being targeted and harassed through raids on their homes and offices and confiscation of their equipment while many among then are not even spared arrests. Continued raids by Government agencies on organizations and homes of people and slapping of PSA and other harsh laws on them, picking up of youth, their arbitrary arrests constant surveillance of people continues unabated across J-K as a state policy, as the number of kashmiris in jails and detention Centre’s further swells.”
While thousands including political leaders and activists continue to languish in jails for years-on end without any remedy, with APHC chairman himself placed under arbitrary house detention for the past twenty six months now. The pro freedom group said the “situation in J-K is simmering and the people especially the youth feel suffocated ,which can have serious consequences”.
“No problem or issue can be solved by force and repression,” APHC said, adding that “the longstanding non resolution of the political and humanitarian issue of Jammu and Kashmir is only creating more complications in the region and should be resolved as soon as possible”.
The statement read: “The ruling dispensation should stop pursing the policy of intimidation and retribution against the people of J-K by withdrawing these harsh laws and restore people’s freedoms and liberties.”