ISLAMABAD:Federal Minister for Human Rights Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada Saturday condemned the conviction of Kashmiri leader Muhammad Yasin Malik by the Indian court in a case.
Malik has been charged with unlawful fund-raising, being member of a terrorist organization, sedition and criminal conspiracy, said in a press release issued by Ministry of Human Rights here.
The minister said that in the past, fake charges had been levelled in Indian courts against prominent leaders like Maqbool Bhatt and Afzal Guru that resulted in their execution. Now another very prominent pro-freedom Kashmiri leader who had a huge following in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) was on trial. “We suspect that the Indian government wants to get rid of him too. His life is in danger,” he added.
Pirzada urged the International Human Rights Organizations to take notice of this human rights violation in IIOJK.
He said that the allegations levelled against Malik were false, contrived and politically motivated. In addition to this, the act under which he was tried, was in sheer violation of set principles of international law.
He maintained that people of IIOJK were fighting for their legitimate right to self determination. They are struggling for decades against Indian occupation. India can never curb Kashmiris’ struggle for their rights with force and brutality.
The minister said that this was the hypocrisy of world leading super powers that they keep an eye closed from the human rights violations in IIOJK just because they had their economic and trade interests attached with India. But Pakistan would never relent from its support for their Kashmiri brothers. We’ll plead the case of Kashmir at every international forum and would sensitize the international community about the severe human rights violations in IIOJK, he added.
Pirzada said that international community and Human Rights organizations should vehemently quash such heinous acts of Indian state and its courts.
These acts of Indian court were particularly in violation of article 14 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966 ( ICCPR). The elements of fair trial referred in ICCPR have been violated in this trial that was against the human rights conventions.