Srinagar, October 21, 2021 (PPI-OT):The Chairman of Kashmir Institute of International Relations (KIIR), Altaf Hussain Wani and the Chairman of Pasban-e-Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir, Uzair Ahmad Ghazali have condemned the torture of veteran rights activist, Muhammad Ahasan Untoo by Indian forces in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Altaf Hussain Wani in a statement issued in Islamabad, while highlighting Untoo’s peerless contribution in highlighting Indian brutalities and the plight of common Kashmiris, said that the IFJHR chairman had been tortured and incarcerated many times in the past for his human rights activism.
“He is one of the bold and brave voices of the territory who is being victimized just for standing up for the rights of common Kashmiris, calling spade a spade and speaking truth to the power”, Wani said. Urging the world human rights organization to take effective notice of the Indian brutalities, he said that the BJP government was hell bent on silencing every dissenting voice in Kashmir.
“Intimidation, torture, arbitrary arrests of rights defenders and terrorizing their families remain to be one of the extreme measures the Indian government has been using as a state policy to enable complete silence on Kashmir and to subdue critical voices who dare to speak truth to power”, Mr. Wani said adding that it was high time that the world should break its silence and hold Indian government accountable for the past and ongoing human rights abuses in the region.
Uzair Ahmad Ghazali in a statement in Muzaffarabad said that the Indian agencies were using force to silence every voice for freedom and justice in the disputed state. He said that violence against a well-known human rights activist, Ahsan Untoo in the occupied territory was a heinous crime and urged the international community to take note of the deteriorating human rights situation in IIOJK. It is worth recalling here that Mr. Untoo’s was ruthlessly thrashed and beaten to a pulp by the CRPF and police cops on October 19 while he was on a private visit to Watergam village of Rafiabad area of Baramulla district.
He has been under fire over the role he played in exposing India’s dodgy and destructive role in Kashmir. His organization (IFJHR) is a regular contributor to the human rights mechanism especially sending parallel reports to Universal periodic reviews. Earlier, Untoo received death threats from unknown and unidentified numbers, especially after attending an online webinar organized as a sideline event of 48th Session of UN Human Rights Council.
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