Srinagar, Aug 25: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Monday staged a protest and later addressed a press conference in Srinagar, demanding the release of political prisoners from Jammu and Kashmir who continue to remain incarcerated in different jails across India.
Flanked by party workers, Mehbooba Mufti led a peaceful demonstration that was intercepted by police. Addressing reporters afterward, she accused the authorities of suppressing their democratic right to protest. “We had staged a peaceful protest seeking release of political prisoners and you all saw how we were stopped and what happened with us. They treated us like an enemy,” she said.
Mehbooba highlighted the plight of several senior leaders, including Shabir Shah and Amir Jamat, who remain behind bars, adding that many other detainees are suffering from chronic ailments while their families struggle to make ends meet.
The PDP chief as per the news agency Kashmir News Trust, recalled that her party had earlier moved a resolution in the Assembly seeking the transfer of Kashmiri prisoners back to local jails, but the proposal was not entertained. She urged the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to take the lead in pushing for their return. “I requested Omar Abdullah to constitute an all-party delegation to visit these jails or, if that is not possible, at least send two or three ministers to assess the situation. At the very least, he should meet the Home Minister and request that Kashmiri prisoners be shifted back to jails in Jammu and Kashmir,” she said.
Questioning the prolonged detentions, Mehbooba said that undertrials from Kashmir have spent years in jail as court proceedings drag on, while in other cases even convicts are released on parole. “Think for a moment, senior incarcerated leaders are suffering, but what about poor prisoners whose families have no means to seek their release? Even rapists are released on parole but Kashmiri prisoners continue to languish. I am not doing politics but raising this issue on humanitarian grounds,” she stressed.
The PDP president urged the government to at least release those detainees who have no serious charges against them, warning that ignoring the humanitarian aspect of the issue will deepen alienation among the people. [KNT]
