Srinagar, June 14 (KMS): In occupied Kashmir, the President of High Court Bar Association, Mian Abdul Qayoom, while rejecting the enquiry commission set up by the occupation authorities to investigate the Shopian incident, demanded punishment to the guilty without any further delay.
Mian Abdul Qayoom was addressing a gathering of thousands of people in Shopian town, who were protesting against the molestation and murder of two Kashmiri women by Indian troops in the area. “The enquiry commission is nothing but to buy time. We want the culprits to be behind the bars without any further delay,” he said.
The Bar Association presented a resolution in Shopian Chowk, which was passed by the gathering. The resolution said, “The copy of FIR which has been given to the Bar has only one case registered even though there should at least be five cases including that of abduction, rape, murder, conspiracy and suppression of evidence. The CJM Shopian should investigate why the other offences were not registered.”
The Bar urged that draconian laws like the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and Disturbed Areas Act should be repealed and concrete steps be taken towards demilitarisation of the territory. It also demanded that Shopian case should be investigated by an impartial agency like the Amnesty International or the UN, and foreign representatives should be allowed in Shopian.
The High Court Bar Association took out a protest demonstration from the Sadder Court Complex to Lal Chowk in Srinagar. Lawyers boycotted the court proceedings and joined the march with placards inscribed the slogans like “punish the criminals, we want justice.” The lawyers were chanting slogans against the Commissioner and former SP of Shopian, accusing them of shielding the culprits.
Senior advocate, Zaffar Ahmed Shah addressing the gathering said that the occupation authorities had started using war crimes to suppress the freedom movement. He said that Indian troops were attacking their honour and dignity adding that the Bar Association would continue its investigations in the Shopian case.
The lawyers associations also took out protest rallies in Islamabad, Pulwama, Baramulla and other towns against the gory incident. »