Mirwaiz, Masroor Ansari and APHC call ban as injustice, unfair
Srinagar, March 11 (KMS): In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian BJP government has imposed a five-year ban on the Awami Action Committee (AAC), led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and Ittihad-ul-Muslimeen, led by Masroor Abbas Ansari, under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
According to Kashmir Media Service, the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs headed by Amit Shah issued two separate notifications, banning these political organizations on the charges of supporting the demand of right to self determination and freedom from Indian bondage.
The notification said that the AAC if not banned would continue advocating freedom of Jammu and Kashmir from India, propagate anti-India and pro-freedom sentiments and intensify the ongoing freedom struggle in occupied Kashmir.
The Indian Home ministry also claimed that multiple cases have been filed against AAC and its leaders, including charges of sedition, unlawful assembly, and incitement to violence. Cases have been registered against senior APHC leader, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and other members of the AAC organization in Srinagar police stations such as Nowhatta, Safa Kadal, and Kothi Bagh for allegedly making anti-India speeches, promoting election boycotts, and instigating protests.
Critics stated that the ban, implemented under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, marks yet another move by India's Hindutva BJP government against political organizations in the disputed territory.
The Indian BJP Government has also banned the Jammu and Kashmir Ittihadul Muslimeen (JKIM), headed by Masroor Abbas Ansari, for five years on the same charges of demanding right to self determination as per United Nations resolutions.
Senior APHC leader and chairman of ACC Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, in a statement has strongly condemned the ban on Awami Action Committee and declaring it an Unlawful Association. He Said that AAC was formed by Shaheed e Millat at the peak of holy relic (Moi Muqadas) agitation in 1964, it has unwaveringly stood by the people of IIOJK advocating their aspirations and rights through completely non violent and democratic methods and calling for peaceful resolution of the Kashmir conflict through dialogue and deliberation, for which it’s members suffered jails and incarceration and even martyrdom. This move seems part of the continuation of the policy of intimidation and disempowerment that has being followed viz a viz IIOJK since August 2019. The voice of truth may be suppressed through force but will not be silenced.
Furthermore, Maulana Masroor Abbas Ansari, has strongly condemned the ban imposed on Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen by the BJP regime. Terming the ban as unjustified and unfair, he said that since 1961, this organization, formed by the late senior APHC leader Maulana Abbas Ansari, has advocated for the aspirations and rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir in completely peaceful and non-violent and has always worked peacefully and wants a permanent and lasting solution to Kashmir dispute.
Meanwhile, the APHC spokesperson Advocate Abdul Rashid Minhas while terming the ban as state terrorism labeled the ban a deliberate attempt by the Indian BJP government to suppress Kashmiris' political voice and demand for the right to self-determination.
The spokesman called upon the international community, particularly the United Nations, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the European Union to intervene to resolve the Kashmir dispute in accordance with UN resolutions. KMS