JKLF condemns arrest of its chairman Malik, many ors

Srinagar, Feb 23: Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Saturday condemned the arrest of its chairman Muhammad Yasin Malik and scores of others in nocturnal raids across the valley from yesterday, saying that crackdown on political and religious leadership and organizations will yield nothing but add to “anarchy and chaos.”
“Choking political space is undemocratic and caging peaceful political leadership is like suppressing voices,” JKLF spokesman said in a statement issued to media.
Spokesman said police last night raided the residence of Malik, arrested him and shifted him to police station Kothi-bagh where he is languishing till now. “Police have also arrested JKLF district president Ganderbal Bashir Ahmad rather (Boya) along with Fayaz Ahmad too while as police today raided the houses of JKLF zonal president Noor Muhammad Kalwal and senior zonal vice president Muhammad Yasin Butt. Similar kind of mass arrests have been reported from nooks and corners of whole valley during which almost all the leadership of Jamat-i-Islami including its Ameer Dr. Hameed Fayaz have also been arrested by police,” he said.
Terming spree of arrests, raids and other acts as ‘arbitrary and most undemocratic act’ under the garb of democracy and security, JKLF said that when space on peaceful politics is choked and voices of political dissent are suppressed, it is only violence that gets glorified putting every other civilized means in total jeopardy.
JKLF said that people of Kashmir in past too have seen these kinds of flare-ups and crackdowns on political and religious leadership and organizations but it has not yielded anything to the oppressors in past and will not yield anything in future too.
“JKLF is of the opinion that crackdown on political leadership and activists, jailing religious leaderships, arresting young boys and youngsters will yield only more anarchy and chaos as choking peaceful political space and suppressing democratic voices by military or police force can only be termed as dictatorial and against the norms of democracy and freedom of expression,” JKLF spokesman said.
He added that jail is like second home to political activists and JKLF chairman Muhammad Yasin Malik and other leadership has spent most of their lives in jails and incarcerations and jailing political dissent actually amounts to conceding a defeat by rulers and their local supporters.
Appealing international community to take a serious note of this ‘oppression’, JKLF said that it is the duty of every saner person and responsible nation and those who believe in democracy, freedom of speech and human rights to raise voices against this undemocratic attitude in the name of democracy.