The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has said that the BJP-led Indian government has given Indian forces deployed in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) a free hand to carry out extrajudicial killings of Kashmiri youth in staged encounters and make arbitrary arrests under draconian laws during cordon and search operations.
Indian forces given free hand to kill, arrest Kashmiris in IIOJK: APHC
ISLAMABAD, Sep 18 (APP):The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has said that the BJP-led Indian government has given Indian forces deployed in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) a free hand to carry out extrajudicial killings of Kashmiri youth in staged encounters and make arbitrary arrests under draconian laws during cordon and search operations.
According to Kashmir Media Service, APHC spokesman Advocate Abdul Rashid Minhas, in a statement issued in Srinagar, strongly condemned the killing of two youth by Indian troops during an operation in Udhampur district.
He said that Indian forces had martyred more than 1,000 Kashmiris in the occupied territory since August 5, 2019, most of them young people, while thousands of Kashmiris had been arrested during the same period under draconian laws such as the Public Safety Act (PSA) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The spokesman said Indian forces were killing innocent Kashmiri youth in staged encounters to earn promotions, medals and rewards. He said India had given its forces deployed in the occupied territory a free hand to kill Kashmiris under the draconian Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), which provides them with extensive legal protection to personnel operating under the law and imposes significant restrictions on the initiation of legal proceedings against them.
The APHC spokesman said that India sought to intimidate Kashmiris demanding freedom from Indian occupation through the ongoing killings in the occupied territory. However, he said, the Kashmiri people remained steadfast in their demand for freedom and were determined to carry forward the mission of the martyrs to its logical conclusion.
The APHC appealed to the international community to play its role in stopping the killing of innocent Kashmiris by Indian forces in occupied Jammu and Kashmir and resolving the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the United Nations resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people.
