Pakistan on Wednesday denounced the ban on two Kashmir organisations for a interval of 5 years imposed by the Indian authorities within the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
India has banned two political teams within the IIOJK it accused of selling secessionism within the disputed Muslim-majority area, together with one headed by the occupied territory’s main spiritual cleric.
An order issued late on Tuesday by India’s residence ministry declared the Awami Motion Committee (AAC) an illegal affiliation underneath the nation’s stringent anti-terror legal guidelines, banning it for 5 years.
It stated the social gathering’s actions had been “prejudicial to the integrity, sovereignty and safety” of India and accused its members of “supporting terrorist actions and anti-India propaganda for fuelling secessionism”.
A separate ministry notification introduced the five-year ban of the Jammu and Kashmir Ittihadul Muslimeen (JKIM).
The JKIM was based by one other notable political and spiritual chief, Maulana Mohammad Abbas Ansari, who headed it until his demise in 2022.
It accused the group of “sheer disrespect in the direction of the constitutional authority” and selling Kashmir’s “secession” from India.
“The latest choice will increase the entire variety of outlawed Kashmiri political events and organisations to 16,” Pakistan’s Overseas Workplace stated in an announcement issued right this moment.
“Banning of various political events and organisations is one more manifestation of the Indian authorities’ iron-fisted strategy within the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
“It displays a need to suppress the political actions and stifle dissent. It additionally exhibits sheer disregard of democratic norms and worldwide human rights regulation.”
Islamabad urged New Delhi to “take away the curbs on the Kashmiri political events; launch all of the political prisoners; and faithfully implement the UN Safety Council resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir”.
India has banned 10 political teams within the area since Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s authorities imposed direct rule on the occupied area in 2019, cancelling its constitutionally assured semi-autonomy.
Critics and residents say that civil liberties have been drastically curtailed within the years since.
Amit Shah, India’s highly effective inside minister, trumpeted the ban on social media and warned that these “concerned in actions towards the nation” would face the “crushing blow” of Modi’s authorities.
The AAC, led by cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, was fashioned in 1964 within the aftermath of an enormous marketing campaign for Kashmir’s proper to self-determination. It has by no means participated in periodic elections held within the area.
Farooq stated the ban was a “continuation of the coverage of intimidation and disempowerment” he accused Indian authorities of implementing within the IIOJK in 2019.
“The voice of reality could also be suppressed via drive however won’t be silenced,” he wrote in a submit on social media platform X.
Politicians from IIOJK’s pro-India political events additionally criticised the ban in a uncommon act of solidarity with the group.
Mehbooba Mufti, president of the Folks’s Democratic Get together, warned that “suppressing dissent will solely deepen tensions”.
Resistance teams have waged a decades-long marketing campaign in IIOJK demanding both independence or a merger with Pakistan.