Says Geelani, other leaders were ‘within their rights’ not to meet APD members
The J&K High Court Bar Association (HCBA) on Monday said the Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman Syed Ali Geelani and other resistance leaders were “within their rights” not to meet the visiting all-party parliamentary delegation” here on Sunday, according to a report in Greater Kashmir .
“Irrespective of the fact as to whether Syed Ali Geelani was right or wrong in not opening the door of his house to the visiting delegation, how can one deny the fact that the octogenarian is under house arrest from 2009 continuously and has not even been allowed to offer Friday prayers? He has also not been allowed to talk to his people or have any discussion or discourse with them on matters concerning the (freedom) movement,” a Bar spokesman said in a statement. “Thus, not only his freedom of speech and expression has been infringed, but his right to live a dignified life without any fetters on his liberty and also the right to preach, propagate and profess his religion has been negated by the government of India and its collaborators in Kashmir.” “On a day when members of the visiting parliamentary delegation had gone to meet Syed Ali Geelani, he was still under confines with all kinds of restrictions on him. The same is true about other leaders also, who have been arrested and detained on flimsy grounds and lodged in jails, sub-jails and police stations, without even being allowed to meet their kith and kin.”
“Today when Home Minister was addressing a press conference, the ruthless forces at that time were busy thrashing people at Palpora in Srinagar who had assembled there to mourn the death of Danish Sultan Haroo, a student of class 6th, who drowned in river Jhelum last Thursday, after he, along with a group of youth, was chased by the ruthless forces,” the Bar spokesman said, adding: “Yesterday, when members of parliamentary delegation went to meet Geelani and other leaders, right at that time, more than 600 persons received injuries, by use of pellets and bullets by the ruthless forces. More than 73 persons have been killed by the forces and about 700 have been hit by pellets in their eyes, out of whom 30 are those who have received pellets in both eyes. More than 11000 have been injured and most of them are still receiving treatment in different hospitals in Kashmir.”
The Bar Association quipped: “If this is Jamhuriyat and Insaniyat of which Union home minister is proud of, then India definitely deserves a permanent seat in the Security Council so that they can teach this lesson of Jamhuriyat and Insaaniyat to other people of the world,” the spokesman said, adding: “Syed Ali Geelani or other leaders did not meet the parliamentary delegation members only because they wanted to register their protest against the brute force used by government forces to kill innocent Kashmiris who — for the last 70 years — are fighting for a genuine cause, there was no other way for them to register their protest in any other manner because either they were lodged in police stations or jails or were under house arrest”.
This article was first published on www.greaterkashmir.com