Kashmir High Court Lawyers stage anti-India demos in Srinagar
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ISLAMABAD: (APP) Members of the High Court Bar Association (HCBA) in occupied Kashmir staged protest demonstrations in Srinagar against the Indian brutalities in the territory.
According to Kashmir Media Service (KMS), the lawyers held the demonstrations in connection with the protest programmes issued by the joint resistance leadership as part of the ongoing struggle for right to self-determination.
Carrying placards and banners, the protesting lawyers demanded release of illegally detained Kashmiris and pitched for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the Kashmiris' aspirations.
Speaking on the occasion, the HCBA President, Mian Abdul Qayoom, said that there was no rule of law in the territory and the people were arrested and lodged in jails away from their homes.
He deplored that there was no consideration for age and sex and even minors were not spared.
He said that though the judges of the High Court were quashing the orders of detention every day, but the orders were observed in breach and no one was released in pursuance of the court orders.
Mian Qayoom said that in 1985 when Bhim Singh, was detained illegally, he filed a petition in the Indian Supreme Court, which not only ordered his release, but also asked the authorities to pay a compensation of Rs 50,000 to him for his wrongful detention.
He said that in Kashmir, people were detained and re- detained without being asked by the courts as to why they were being arrested and detained repeatedly and were also not directed to pay compensation to them for their wrongful detention.
The HCBA President said that in the past when anyone was detained under draconian Public Safety Act (PSA), he would be produced before the advisory board headed by the Chief Justice of High Court, but now neither the detainee knows as to who is the head of the advisory board nor is he produced before such board for hearing.
He said that in 2010 and 2011 he was detained thrice under the PSA, but was not produced before the advisory board. He said when such a treatment is meted out to a lawyer, one can easily understand as to what treatment would is being given to a common Kashmiri.
He said that it was in the year 2010 that the High Court declared the APHC Chairman, Syed Ali Gilani, a "free man". However, Syed Ali Gilani continues to remain under house arrest from 2010 and no one is allowed to meet him, he said.
The HCBA President said that in occupied Kashmir all people at the helm of affairs were mere stooges who had no power or authority.
