Islamabad: In Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference has urged the UN Secretary-General to pressure India for the release of all Kashmiri political detainees. In a statement, APHC spokesman Abdul Rashid Minhas named APHC Chairman Massarat Alam Butt, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, Muhammad Yasin Malik, Aasiya Andrabi, and Nayeem Ahmed Khan as among those languishing in India’s Tihar jail. He warned that given their deteriorating health, further delay in release will endanger their lives and plunge justice into darkness.

According to Radio Pakistan, Kashmiri representatives Altaf Hussain Wani, Shamim Shawl, and Advocate Parvez Ahmed Shah, speaking during the UN Human Rights Council’s general debate in Geneva, called for urgent international intervention against India’s escalating repression in the occupied territory. They cautioned that durable peace in South Asia will remain elusive until Kashmiris are granted their UN-mandated right to self-determination.

Meanwhile, the mountainous Doda district of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir witnessed a third consecutive day of widespread protests against the detention of elected representative Meraj Malik under the Public Safety Act. Thousands of protesters defied strict curfew and took to the streets, demanding Malik’s immediate release. Indian police resorted to baton charges and heavy tear-gas shelling, injuring several protesters.