Pakistan says ‘deeply concerned’ over health of jailed leaders in disputed Kashmir

FILE - Key Kashmiri leaders Yasin Malik (L), Syed Ali Shah Geelani (C) and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq hold hands after addressing a press confrence in Srinagar on November 8, 2016. (AFP)

• Many of the leaders have been in prison since India stripped Kashmir of its special autonomy last year
• Other Kashmiri leaders including Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq are under house arrest

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is “deeply concerned” over the continued incarceration and deteriorating health conditions of Kashmiri leaders, the foreign office said on Monday.
India stripped the Himalayan Kashmir region of its special autonomy last year, putting it under curfew, cutting off Internet and arresting prominent leaders.
Pakistan and India both rule the region in part but claim it in full.
Among the jailed leaders are founding leader of Kashmiri organization “Dukhtaran-i-Millat,” Asiya Andrabi, leader and founder of the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, and prominent leaders like Yasin Malik, Masarat Alam Bhat, Mohammad Ashraf Sehraie and others.
Many other senior Kashmiri leaders including Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq remain under house arrest.
“These Kashmiri leaders have been illegally arrested over malicious, false and fabricated charges by the Indian government through invoking draconian laws,” Pakistan’s foreign office said. “Imprisonment and torturing of Kashmiri leaders on the basis of their political ideology ... is a true reflection of the extremist mindset.”
“Pakistan calls upon the international community, particularly the United Nations, ICRC and human rights and humanitarian organizations, to take notice of the Indian government’s inhuman treatment of the Kashmiri leaders and raise its voice for their immediate release.”