Kashmir Bar disputes credibility of judiciary

Hurriyat supports call to freeze Valley on Durbar day

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, May 8: Kashmir Bar Association---an organization of the Valley’s legal practitioners that has been a constituent of the separatist conglomerate Hurriyat Conference for over a decade and has been making efforts to unify its split groups---has disputed the credibility and impartiality of the law courts in Jammu & Kashmir. Expressing serious concerns over the‘faulty’ administration of justice, Government’s attempts of “changing Kashmir’s demography in the current census operation” and “human rights abuse by armed forces”, KBA has called for a total shutdown on Monday next and its call has been immediately supported by most of the Valley’s secessionist groups and alliances, including both factions of Hurriyat Conference. Civil Secretariat and offices of Heads of Departments are scheduled to open here on May 10th after Durbar’s functioning in the winter capital of Jammu for six months.

Addressing a news conference here today, KBA President, Advocate Mian Abdul Qayoom, lamented that the judiciary in the conflict-riddled state was a mute spectator to abuse of authority by the executive, more so in matters of human rights violation by Police and armed forces. He complained that District Magistrates (DMs) had been indulging in gross misuse of the draconian Public Safety Act (PSA) and they had been blindly slapping it repeatedly on the political detainees. He referred to PSA detention of certain Hurriyat leaders and separatist activists and said that it had been invoked for Massarat Aalam as many as eight times, for Shabir Shah seven times and for many others for four times.

Qayoom sought action against the DMs and alleged that the draconian law, that had been actually made for facilitating confinement of timber smugglers, was being blatantly misused by the government for “illegal detention” of the separatist political leaders and activists. According to him, over 50,000 Kashmiris had been arrested by Police and other government agencies in the last 20 years of the armed insurgency and more than 20,000 of them had been detained, with extension after extension, by DMs and other authorities.

Qayoom said that Government’s claim of having detained just 100 persons under PSA since January 2009 was far from truth. According to the figures quoted by him, as many as 728 persons had been arrested and detained under PSA. He said that 412 of such detainees were still languishing in different jails. KBA chief claimed that judges of the state law courts were “fully aware” of this but they had chosen to be mute spectators. According to him, ‘faulty’ administration of justice in itself was a source of cruelty for the people of Kashmir. He made specific mention of Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bandipore and alleged that the judge had been implementing “his own laws” in dealing with the political detainees. He also castigated judges for not permitting meetings of the detainees with their relatives on the Old High Court premises.

KBA chief alleged that Police and security forces had unleashed a reign of terror against the innocent civilians and asserted that a number of Kashmiris, not involved in any criminal activity, had been eliminated by armed forces in fake encounters during NC-led coalition government in the state.

Taking exception to deployment of non-Kashmiri staff for conducting the census operations, Qayoom called for engagement of local teachers for the job. He was critical of a trade union leader’s demand of not engaging schoolteachers for the census and alleged that Government had ill intentions of “changing Kashmir’s demography” by conducting the ten-yearly operation through non-Muslim, non-Kashmiri staff.

Qayoom alleged that NC-led coalition government was also contributing to “sinister gameplan of changing Kashmir’s demography” by way of reserving 8 percent of job vacancies in all districts of Kashmir valley for Scheduled Caste population of Hindu-dominated Jammu province. According to him, no reservation had been provided in the lately passed law in Legislature for Scheduled Tribe population that belonged to Muslim community and existed in all districts of Muslim-dominated Kashmir province.

Expressing his gratitude over the Kashmiri IAS topper Dr Faisal Shah’s historic achievement in the Indian Civil Services examination of 2009, Qayoom said that the young boy from Kupwara had exploded the myth---according to him created by Kashmiri Pandits---that Kashmiri Muslims were too incompetent to clear such tough examinations. He lamented that such Kashmiris in the Indian decision making were not being allowed to assert according to their conscience and law, particularly in the matters of Jammu & Kashmir. He complained that a Kashmiri-American woman “holding the Muslim name of Farah Pandit” had also done nothing for Kashmir and Kashmiris in the US Administration.

KBA chief’s call for total shutdown on May 10th was immediately supported by both factions of the Hurriyat Conference, led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Dukhtaraan-e-Millat and most of the other secessionist outfits and alliances. In their separately issued statements, they asked the Kashmiris to completely freeze the Valley on Monday next.

END