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J&K assembly results clear message against abrogation of Art 370: Mirwaiz
While delivering the Friday sermon at Jama Masjid in Old City, Mirwaiz said that in the recently concluded elections, people sent a unanimous and clear message against “snatching our rights and statehood”
Hurriyat Conference chairman and chief priest of Srinagar’s grand mosque Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Friday said that the results of recent J&K elections gave a clear message against the central government’s unilateral decisions of 2019 and urged the incoming J&K government to push for release of political prisoners and repealing of “draconian” laws.
While delivering the Friday sermon at Jama Masjid in Old City, Mirwaiz said that in the recently concluded elections, people sent a unanimous and clear message against “snatching our rights and statehood”.
“There was anger against the changes (in 2019 and after) and people responded in a consolidated manner,” he said. “The message was that, in every manner available to them, they will resist attempts to subjugate and disempower them. This time, through a consolidated ballot, they registered their strong disapproval of the drastic unilateral changes made in August 2019, since when they have been systematically disempowered and their voices stifled,” he said.
“We expect that the Government of India understands this message,” he said.
Mirwaiz expressed hope that the incoming government would read the message of the voters and work to restore the identity and rights of the people of J&K.
“I hope those voted to power are respectful of the voters’ message and fulfil the promise they made to restore the legal safeguards and the rights snatched from them in 2019. The ownership of our land and resources, the constitutional commitments reneged on, our very identity, and dignity were further undermined by the 2019 directives ,” he said.
He also urged the new government to work on the release of political prisoners and youth.
“While we (Hurriyat) peacefully strive for those rights never given to us for almost the last eight decades, for which we are constantly struggling and being sent to jails, we have been constantly appealing to the GOI for engagement and the release of political prisoners which include political leaders , lawyers, human rights activists and youth,” he said.
“As promised to the people, the incoming government should urgently take up the matter with the Government of India and help secure the release of all political prisoners and youth languishing in jails for years and decades, some even without trial, and push for the withdrawal of the draconian laws, including UAPA and PSA, under which they themselves were incarcerated in 2019,” he said.
He alleged that the condition of many prisoners was abysmal. “These laws have destroyed people’s lives. The medical condition of many prisoners in jail is very worrying. There is an urgent humanitarian need to reunite them with their families, so this matter demands immediate attention and should be addressed on priority,” he said.
