‘Kashmiris languishing in jails under draconian laws like PSA doing it for money?’
‘NIA is Gabbar from movie Sholay, trying to intimidate Kashmiris.’
‘Syed Ali shah Geelani, Yasin Malik and I myself will go to Delhi and present ourselves for arrest at the NIA headquarters.’
Srinagar: The Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) of Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik addressed an ‘important’ Press Conference at Jamia Masjid, Nowhatta, Srinagar, regarding the arrests made by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), on Wednesday at 1.00pm.
National Investigation Agency (NIA) is a central agency established by the Indian Government to combat terror in India. It acts as the Central Counter Terrorism Law Enforcement Agency. The agency is empowered to deal with terror related crimes across states without special permission from the states. The Agency came into existence with the enactment of the National Investigation Agency Act 2008 by the Parliament of India on 31 December 2008.
Aga Syed Hasan was also present at the occasion, and was present beside the duo throughout the presser outside the mosque.
FPK Photo/ Tabish Mir
While Geelani couldn’t make it to the press conference, he addressed the same over a mobile phone channeling to the crowd through a loudspeaker.
Yasin Malik referred to the NIA as the antagonist Gabbar from the famous Hindi movie Sholay, trying to intimidate Kashmiris.
Gabbar Singh is a fictional character and the antagonist of the 1975 Hindi-language film Sholay written by Salim- Javed, also later featured in the spoof Ramgarh Ke Sholay.
Played by Amjad Khan, he is depicted in Sholay as a dacoit who leads a group in looting and plundering the villages in the region of Ramgarh. He has a sadistic personality and insists on killing whenever required to continue his status and to take revenge on his enemies. The character of Gabbar is one of the most popular in Indian films.
Mirwaiz, while addressing the people said that the Govt of India is following a policy of coercion, defamation, and intimidation in Kashmir as it does not want to address the actual issue.
“It wants to change the whole narrative. So, diversionary tactics and propaganda are being used as a multi pronged approach to defame and malign the leadership, through personal attacks on their integrity by spreading viscous lies about them and distorting and manipulating facts in order to create disillusionment among the masses regarding them and hence demoralize the Kashmiri masses from their just political struggle recognized by the world,” he said.
“Viscous and consistent propaganda through media especially electronic and social is being carried out. Each day, media trials are conducted on prime time television and Kashmiri movement ridiculed leadership abused and Kashmiris humiliated,” he added.
Talking about the mainstream India based media, apparently spreading lies about Kashmiris, he said “people of India are being fed lies and propaganda. Intimidation and harassment of our family members, associates, friends, organizations associated with us or any and everyone they can lay their hands on is done through sending of so called notices of NIA.”
“Using fear as a tool of intimidation against these people and psychologically tormenting them to put pressure on us,” he further added.
“Even social and educational and legal institutions, be it Anjuman Nustar-ul-Islam, Auqaf Jama Masjid or Bar Association associated with leadership or the movement are being targeted and those working there harassed by sending them notices,” he added.
“Members of the Business community and now press and media fraternity and youth are also being targeted, harassed, and jailed while writers, intellectuals, and artists or anyone who raises a voice against oppression and for resolution of Kashmir dispute is intimidated by sending of the notices,” Mirwaiz said.
Earlier today, The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested two alleged stone pelters including a freelance photo-journalist for allegedly indulging in stone pelting and mobilising support against security personnel through the social media on Tuesday.
“The narrative of the Kashmir dispute and our struggle for self determination is being deliberately distorted and it is projected as a sponsored movement from across the border where money is the motivation and the end,” Malik said, while speaking at the presser.
Further stressing that the NIA is demonising the Kashmir Freedom Movement as one for monetary gains, he said “700,000 armed forces that are stationed here making Kashmir the world’s most militarized zone is not explained .. did the more than one lakh people who were killed mercilessly by forces in the past 27 years die for money? were the thousands of Kashmiris enforced into disappearances at the hands of forces after money the thousands of people pelleted blinded and maimed and handicapped for life doing it for money? the thousands of Kashmiris languishing in jails under draconian laws like PSA doing it for money? the students across institutions who come out to agitate and protest so that now authorities are repeatedly shutting down educational institutions doing it to get money? are traders and shopkeepers who bring down their shutters to protest oppression and killings doing so for money?
These ridiculous arguments hold no ground, he said.
“While killings oppression and harassment continues the judicial route is now also being used to launch another offensive against the people of JK through ways to abrogate article 35 A and 370”
“The move aimed at settling outsiders in J&K in order to change the demography of the state is being pursued to render Kashmiris powerless and irrelevant and hence dilute the disputed nature of Kashmir. This move has a direct bearing on our Right to self determination guaranteed by the Indian state at the UN and ratified by the world body itself.”
Leadership is labelled as terrorists for demanding the honoring of the commitments made to us by GOI at the UN and resolution of the dispute, Mirwaiz added.
In regard to the ‘humiliation faced’ by the family members and relative and associates of the JRL, Mirwaiz said that the JRL leaders Syed Ali shah Geelani, Yasin Malik “and myself will go to Delhi and present ourselves for arrest at the NIA headquarters.”
“Like every political movement of this nature, it is vibrant and dynamic constantly adapting to changing times with the values of justice and right to sovereignty at its core,” he said.
The Joint Resistance Leadership said that their political movement regarding the permanent future of Kashmir is a globally acknowledged and endorsed issue ratified by the world community at UN through various resolutions regarding it.
“Both India and Pakistan are a party to the dispute but the primary party is the people of J&K. Unless the dispute is resolved in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of the people of J&K our just struggle will continue,” the leadership said.
(Hayat Manan contributed in this story)
