rki.news
Altaf Hamid Rao

MIRPUR (AJK), March 24: Veteran Kashmiri rights activist, senior All Parties Hurriyat Conference leader, and Chairman of the Jammu Kashmir Salvation Movement, Altaf Ahmed Bhat, on Tuesday strongly condemned the sentencing of senior Hurriyat leader and Dukhtaran-e-Millat chief Aasiya Andrabi to life imprisonment, along with her associates Fehmida Sofi and Nahida Nasreen to 30 years in prison. He described the case as politically motivated, fabricated, and part of a broader strategy by Indian authorities to suppress pro-freedom voices in the region.
In a statement released to the media, Bhat said the verdict, framed under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), represents a continuation of systematic repression against Kashmir’s political leadership in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. He emphasized that such measures are intended to intimidate, silence, and delegitimize those advocating for Kashmiri rights, rather than serve justice.
“These fabricated cases are not about justice,” Bhat said. “They are designed to imprison, discredit, and destroy leadership striving for fundamental rights and freedoms.” He recalled previous detentions, harsh prison conditions, and deaths of leaders like Ashraf Sehrai, Syed Ali Geelani, and Altaf Ahmed Shah, who suffered due to lack of medical care and denial of basic rights.
Bhat highlighted that many incarcerated leaders, including Yaseen Malik, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, Masarat Alam Bhat, Dr. Abdul Hameed Fayyaz, and Zaffar Akbar Bhat, continue to languish in Indian prisons without proper medical attention or due process.
“This is not justice; this is persecution,” Bhat added. “Judicial systems are being used as instruments of repression, turning detainees into prisoners of politics, not law. Such tactics aim to crush Kashmiri political movements through manufactured charges and prolonged incarceration rather than fair political dialogue.”
He called upon the international community, human rights organizations, and the United Nations to urgently intervene, hold India accountable, and ensure protection for Kashmiri leaders. Bhat stressed that pressure must be applied on New Delhi to uphold UN resolutions on Kashmir and begin the long-delayed process of plebiscite and the right to self-determination, emphasizing that the struggle for justice and human rights must continue.