Judiciary no different from executive, legislative: Joint Hurriyat

Srinagar, Feb 13: Joint Hurriyat Leadership (JRL) comprising of Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik Tuesday said that for the people of Kashmir “the Indian judiciary is no different from its Executive and legislative authority in dealing with them, as has been proved time and again especially since the last three decades”.

In a statement, the Joint Hurriyat said there is “no expectation, hope of justice for the daily killings of civilians, young or old men or women, children or lactating mothers, by its armed forces who enjoy the cover of legal impunity under laws such as the AFSPA and hence are free from accountability and prosecution”.

The leaders said forces stationed in Kashmir are used as a “vehicle of maintaining forcible control over the people and territory of Kashmir”.

“As a consequence of the unbridled powers bestowed upon them by the laws of the state, more than one lakh Kashmiri civilians have been killed with bullets and pellets either during massacres such as in Hawal, Gaw Kadal, Sopore, Kupwara and Handwara in enforced disappearances during civil protests and agitation or during cordon and search operation or in targeted killings,” they said.

“None of the perpetrators have ever been brought to book or punished although many times ‘inquiries’ are set up as an immediate remedy to bring the situation under control and assuage people’s anger,” they said.

“Once in a while when the unproved and target killing of civilians by the forces is too obvious as in the case of Shopian on 28 Jan 2018 where three young boys were shot at in the head and brutally killed and the administration was forced to file an FIR, all hell is let loose, there is a hue and cry about how dare forces are indicted, will it not affect their morale is argued?” the statement said.

“The leadership said the biased and aggressive among the Indian media goes all guns to defend the “victims”, in this case the forces, and in the Din and cacophony that ensues, the basic question of the fundamental right to life of those Kashmiri civilians who were killed in cold blood and justice for their murder, is drowned”.

“The judiciary immediately comes to the rescue of the perpetrators and even the attempt to some kind of investigation in the killing is stayed,” they said.