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India Gazette
07-06-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
Eid has no meaning amid state repression, says PoJK Activist Amjad Ayub Mirza
London [UK], June 7 (ANI): As millions prepare to mark Eid with joy and tradition, Amjad Ayub Mirza, a leading activist from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), has declared the occasion hollow for those living under state repression in Pakistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Balochistan. Speaking from London, Mirza lamented the ongoing incarceration of key political and human rights activists, including Ehsan Ali Advocate of the Awami Action Committee, Mumtaz Hussain Nagri of the Karakoram National Movement, and young voices like Sakhi Asif and Mahrang Baloch. 'Eid is meant to be a celebration of compassion and community, but how can we celebrate when our people are jailed for demanding basic rights?' he said. This year's Eid has been overshadowed by a surge in civil unrest across the occupied regions. In Balochistan, the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) held protests even on Eid day, demanding answers for the thousands who have disappeared. In Gilgit, schoolteachers entered the 14th day of a sit-in, demanding fair treatment. Meanwhile, in PoJK, pensioners and non-gazetted government employees continue their struggle for economic justice. 'These are not isolated grievances; they are cries of a suppressed population,' Mirza said. He criticised the Pakistani elite for celebrating Eid in luxury while ignoring the daily suffering of ordinary citizens. Calling for urgent international intervention, Mirza urged global human rights bodies and independent media to spotlight the realities of the occupied territories. 'As long as our voices are silenced and our people remain behind bars, Eid will have no meaning for us,' he concluded. His message is a stark reminder that behind the celebrations, countless lives remain shadowed by fear, loss, and injustice. (ANI)
Indian Express
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Mirwaiz hopes against war, says Centre must ‘reconsider' deportations, ‘inimical to peace, stability'
Leading the Friday prayers at Jamia Masjid here, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq hoped that the situation between India and Pakistan, 'getting worse by the day' since the Pahalgam attack, is resolved without going to war. He also regretted the 'vilification' of Kashmiris in some quarters after the attack that left 26 dead, and urged the Centre to 'reconsider' deportations of those holding Pakistani passports following revocation of visas by India. It was the second Friday in a row after the April 22 Pahalgam attack that Mirwaiz, the Valley's chief cleric, was allowed to give his customary sermon at the Jamia Masjid. In one of his strongest remarks on government actions in a sermon, since his release from a four-year house arrest after the 2019 abrogation of Article 370, Mirwaiz said: 'The events unfolding after the horrendous Pahalgam incident have again shown that whenever such things happen, it is the people of Kashmir who bear the brunt and suffer. Despite their unanimous condemnation of it, people of Kashmir are being held to account and targeted.' Many students and professionals had returned home to Kashmir from other parts of the country after facing 'harassment', he said. 'How is all this helping in punishing the perpetrators, if that is the aim?' Pointing to the deportations since the Pahalgam attack, after India revoked almost all categories of visas to Pakistanis, Mirwaiz said this is leading to 'the division of families, with mothers being separated from little children and husbands from wives' in Kashmir. He mentioned the death of a paralysed 80-year-old Abdul Waheed Bhat on a bus while waiting to be deported to Pakistan. 'In Kashmir, it's sorrow after sorrow and grief after grief that visits us,' Mirwaiz said, urging the Central government to revisit a policy 'inimical to actual peace and stability in Jammu and Kashmir', on 'humanitarian grounds'. Mirwaiz also raised cases of alleged extrajudicial killings in the past, and questioned actions such as demolition of houses of relatives of militants, 'rendering families homeless and desolate'. At least nine such demolitions have followed the Pahalgam attack, with parties which have otherwise offered support to the Centre in any action it takes against the terrorists also urging it to refrain from this 'counterproductive' measure. In his address, Mirwaiz addressed the ban on his party Awami Action Committee by the Centre recently, calling it 'unjust and politically motivated'. 'People know that this organisation has always stood for peace and reconciliation and understand that these are fear-building tactics. It would be better to win over people than to intimidate them into submission,' he said. As the leader of the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz has always advocated talks. On April 25, in his first Friday sermon after the Pahalgam attack – allowed by the authorities after the gap of a month – Mirwaiz had led a one-minute silence for the dead, and had condemned the killings as 'shocking and chilling beyond belief'. He had also commented on how the people of the Valley had 'opened their hearts and homes' for outsiders, while regretting the 'communal rhetoric of hate' directed at Kashmiris.
New Indian Express
26-04-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
1-minute silence in memory of Pahalgam terrorist attack victims
SRINAGAR: In a rare gesture, worshippers observed a one-minute silence in memory of the Pahalgam terrorist attack victims during Friday's congregational prayers at the historic Jamia Masjid. The event was also notable because the Masjid had been the hub of separatists since militancy erupted in Jammu and Kashmir. Hurriyat Conference leader and cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was allowed to visit Jamia Masjid after four weeks and give the Friday sermon. He led the silent tribute to the victims. In his sermon, the Mirwaiz, whose party Awami Action Committee (AAC) was recently banned by the Centre under UAPA, strongly condemned the terrorist attack on pilgrims in Pahalgam. 'How the carnage was carried out—more than two dozen people killed after ascertaining their identities and in front of their families—is shocking and chilling beyond belief. We strongly condemn it. Who better can understand the pain and grief of loss to the families of those affected than a people who have suffered it for decades and continue to,' he said. The gesture is unique as Jamia Masjid has remained the hub of separatists, and even now, authorities disallow prayers at Kashmir'sgrand mosque, occasionally citing security concerns. Even on Eid-ul-Fitr, the authorities did not allow the Eid prayers at Jamia Masjid. Striking a personal note, he aid, 'Today, as per the Islamic calendar, it is the 36th martyrdom anniversary of my father, Mirwaiz Molvi Mohammad Farooq, and seventy others who lost their lives on this tragic day in 1990. Our hearts go out to these families who will never see their loved ones again, and our prayers are with them. We also pray for the speedy recovery of those injured.' Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the one-minute silence is a 'response to the channels who spread hatred against Kashmiris. They will not telecast it as their channels won't run such things. Some anchors are cowards who don't support the truth. If they supported it, they could have telecast the silence observed in Jamia Masjid.'
Express Tribune
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Pakistan denounces Indian ban on IIOJK bodies
Pakistan on Wednesday denounced the decision by India to declare the 'Awami Action Committee' and 'Jammu and Kashmir Ittihad-ul-Muslimeen' as 'Unlawful Association' for five years. Last year, the Indian authorities had declared several political parties as "unlawful associations" as well, bringing the total of banned political parties to 14 in the occupied region. The decision was denounced by the FO at the time as well. The 'Awami Action Committee' is led by a prominent political and religious leader, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. The 'Jammu and Kashmir Ittihad-ul-Muslimeen' was also founded by another notable political and religious leader, Maulana Mohammad Abbas Ansari, who headed it till his demise in 2022. The recent decision increases the total number of outlawed Kashmiri political parties and organizations to 16, Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said in a statement. "Banning of different political parties and organizations is yet another manifestation of the Indian authorities' iron-fisted approach in the IIOJK. It reflects a desire to suppress the political activities and stifle dissent. It also shows sheer disregard of democratic norms and international human rights law," he remarked. The spokesperson urged the Indian government to remove the curbs on the Kashmiri political parties; release all the political prisoners; and faithfully implement the UN Security Council resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir.
