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Srinagar, May 05 (KMS): In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Hurriyat leaders and organizations have vehemently condemned the Modi-led fascist Indian government for custodial death of Tehreeke-e-Hurriyat Chairman Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai in Udhampur Jail. They said that the regime is directly responsible for his death in custody.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference Working Vice Chairman Ghulam Ahmad Gulzar in a statement issued in Srinagar blamed the criminal negligence of the Modi regime for the death of Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai in custody. He termed it as the ruthless behaviour of the Indian Imperialism towards the freedom-loving Kashmiri leaders, imprisoned in solitude in various jails of India without medical facilities.
Paying rich tributes to Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai, the APHC Working Vice Chairman said the death of Sehrai is a sheer act of deliberate custodial killing for which sole responsibility lies with the Modi led fascist regime. He urged the United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, to take serious cognizance of the death of senior Hurriyat leader in mysterious conditions in jail and appealed to the freedom-loving people of Kashmir to observe a complete strike tomorrow in protest against the custodial killing of the senior Hurriyat leader.
The forum led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq deplored that despite repeated requests by the family that his health was deteriorating in jail, Sehrai was left unattended by the till his condition worsened yesterday. It termed it as inhumane attitude of the authorities. The forum at a meeting attended by all its executive members including Prof Abdul Ghani Butt, Bilal Ghani lone and Masroor Abbas Ansari joined incarcerated Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in extending their heartfelt condolences to the family of Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai. Professor Butt said his death is tragic will always be remembered in the hearts of people of Kashmir.
Jammu &Kashmir Anjuman Sharie Shian President Agha Syed Hassan Al-Moosvi Al-Safvi in a statement expressed shock over the demise Mohammad Ashraf Sahrai saying his death in captivity is a heartbreaking tragedy for the people of Kashmir. Agha Hassan said that Sehrai was a pillar and thinker of APHC as well as a powerful religious scholar. His religious and political services are like an open book. He appealed to the international human rights organizations to take serious note of the plight of Kashmiri prisoners in jails and remind New Delhi of its commitment towards signed treaty and conventions concerning political prisoners.
Illegally detained Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Muslim League, Masarrat Aalam Butt described Sehrai as a shining star.
Democratic Political Movement Chairman Khawaja Firdous said that Indian government is deliberately playing with the lives of the Kashmiri people.
Jammu and Kashmir Peoples League Chairman Mukhtar Ahmad Waza and Vice Chairman Aijaz Rehmani have also expressed grief and pain over the demise of Mohammed Ashraf Sehrai. Waza described his custodial death as a murder and said that Sehrai was ill from last couple of months in Udhampur jail and was not provided proper medical treatment. He said that Sehrai is a symbol of resistance and will always be remembered in history of Kashmir for his sacrifices. He urged the International community to probe the death of Sehrai.
Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Islamic Political Party Mohammad Yousuf Naqash castigated Indian occupation authorities for Sehrai’s death in jail saying that his death in custody has exposed Ill intentions of India about jailed leaders and activists.
Hurriyat leaders Molvi Bashir Ahmad, Shabbir Ahmad Dar, Devinder Singh Behl, Zamrooda Habib, Yasmeen Raja, Omar Aadil Dar and Abdul Majeed Mir said that puppet administration did not provide medical care to Sehrai. Behl said that the administration was involved in his murder.
Jammu and Kashmir Court High Bar Association at its executive committee meeting in Srinagar described the death of Sehrai as custodial murder and expressed apprehension about the safety of other Kashmiri prisoners. A resolution adopted on the occasion called for an independent enquiry to fix the responsibility of the custodial death of Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai.
Jammu Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) in a statement in Srinagar termed the passing death of Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai under custody, a cold blooded murder. It maintained that Ashraf Sehrai’s role in the ongoing freedom struggle will always be remembered. The party warned the Indian authorities to release all Kashmiri prisoners or shift them to jails in the Kashmir Valley to avoid such tragedies.
The DFP said that Ashraf Sehrai was a towering freedom loving leader and a truly God fearing person. “He always stood for the just cause of freedom and raised his voice against the oppression and suppression. That is why he was placed behind bars again and again but he never compromised his political ideology. Sehrai Sahab will always be remembered for his straightforwardness and truthfulness,” it added.
JKLF spokesman, Muhammad Rafiq Dar paid rich tributes to Ashraf Sehrai for his services he rendered for the freedom movement.
Jammu and Kashmir Muslim League, Jammu and Kashmir Islami Tanzeem-e-Azadi and Jammu and Kashmir Youth Social and Justice League (JKYSJL) while demanding an international probe into the death of Sehrai called for the release of all Kashmiri prisoners. Hey also expressed solidarity with the family of Ashraf Sehrai.
International Forum for Justice and Human Rights Jammu and Kashmir (IFJHRJK) Chairman Muhammad Ahsan Untoo has described the death of Mohammad Ashraf Sehraie as a judicial murder. Untoo said that there were three pending litigations before the court which included regarding his health. He said in the last hearing on April 16, the court did not hear any argument despite his worsening health condition.
Chairman of Jammu Kashmir Salvation Movement Altaf Ahmed Butt and Pasban-e-Hurriyat Uzair Ahmad Ghazali termed the sad demise of Ashraf Sehrai a cold-blooded murder.
The Legal Forum for Kashmir (LFOVK) in a statement called for international solidarity with the family of Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai who achieved martyrdom on May 05, 2021 under Indian custody. It said Sehrai was resistance icon and Chairman of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir which seeks complete end to Indian occupation of Jammu and Kashmir.
“It is a custodial murder as the 77-year-old resistance leader was detained under the so-called Public Safety Act, termed as lawless law by Amnesty International. He was not provided medical aid and had lost eyesight in the jail.
Ashraf Sehrai was already suffering from hearing impairment and many other ailments,” it said.
The statement said, as a legal advocacy forum representing Kashmiri aspirations, the LFOVK calls on allies and friends of Kashmir to speak on the issue as hundreds of Kashmiri political prisoners are in jails across the occupied territory and India. They are at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 which can prove fatal for their life,” it added. KMS—13K
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