ISLAMABAD – The illegally detained senior Hurriyat leader and the Patron ofMuslim Deeni Mahaz (MDM), Dr Muhammad Qasim Fakhtoo, completed 26 years inprison on Tuesday.
The MDM in a statement issued in Srinagar said that Dr Muhammad QasimFakhtoo was first arrested in 1993 under draconian law, Public Safety Act(PSA), KMS reported. After six years of imprisonment, a TADA courtacquitted him of all the charges due to lack of evidence but policearrested him again at Delhi Airport in 2002 when he was returning fromLondon where he had participated in a conference on Kashmir, it said.
The statement said that in 2003, Dr Fakhtoo was sentenced to lifeimprisonment by Indian Supreme Court in a fake murder case. He challengedhis detention and the court directed the Indian government to review hiscase.
The statement said that a Review Board constituted by the authorities in2008 and comprising the then DGP Prisons and Principal District andSessions Judge, Srinagar, Hasnain Massodi recommended release of Dr Fakhtoobut the CID opposed the recommendation. However, Dr Fakhtoo challenged hisdetention in the High Court seeking directions as per the review board’srecommendations, it said.
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“The High Court quashed the impugned order and directed the government toconsider the case on the basis of the Jammu and Kashmir Jail Manual,” thestatement said. However, since then, the fate of his release continues tohang in balance. During his 26-year detention, he has written more than 20books on religious, social and political topics. His six books are inEnglish and 15 in Urdu,” it added.