Senior lawyer and Kashmir Committee chief Ram Jethmalani has demanded that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and the Public Safety Act be revoked, expressing concern at the human rights situation in the State.
At the end of the committee's five-day visit to Kashmir, he told journalists that New Delhi was partly responsible for the situation. He said he would constitute a group of lawyers in Delhi to fight the cases of prisoners in Jammu and Kashmir. Flanked by V.N. Grover and journalist-activist Madhu Kishwar, he called for efforts to revoke the two Acts which, he said, were misused.
“This is the worst ever here. Human rights violations in Kashmir are worst than in the Nazi Germany. The government has not bothered to review the cases of people arrested under the PSA. We have a case of … ‘General' Moosa, who has been languishing in prison for 18 years without any trial,” he said. “I request Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to personally monitor and review each PSA case.”
Highlighting the concerns on the ground, Mr. Jethmalani said there was every possibility of the 2010 situation recurring in the State. “Space for real democracy seems choked. The government owes an apology and generous compensation to the families of those killed in 2010.” The police too, he said, had been “unleashing a reign of terror.” “We received a lot of complaints against the police. People are being frequently summoned to police stations, abused and harassed without any reason,” he said. “The lawlessness and bureaucratic influence should end.”
Explaining why he revived the Kashmir Committee, Mr. Jethmalani said the then Pakistan President, Gen (retd.) Pervez Musharraf, had come to Agra with a “clear heart,” but “India missed the bus of opportunity.” “I decided to revive the Kashmir Committee after my Pakistan visit. There is a deep yearning for peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue in Pakistan. But I must tell you that India missed the bus… during the Agra summit in 2001.”
“There is no need for Acts which push the people of Kashmir towards further alienation. The Army should go back to the barracks and let the people feel free,” Ms. Kishwar said.
