Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) comprising Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik Thursday termed the death of 66-year-old Ghulam Hassan Malik alias Noor Khan at Kotbalwal jail in Jammu as a “biggest human tragedy.”
In a joint statement the leaders said, “Death of Malik during imprisonment has proved the apprehensions of leadership right that Kashmiri prisoners were ill treated in jails and not even provided with the basic medical aid which poses a great threat to their lives as proven in the case of Malik.”
Paying rich tributes to the courage and patience shown by Malik during incarceration, the JRL said, “Kashmiri nation will always remember the contributions made by Malik towards the Kashmir movement throughout his life. Elderly Malik was slapped with PSA and arrested from his home and later lodged in notorious Kotbalwal Jail where he was denied the medical aid with the result his health deteriorated which later resulted in his death during incarceration.”
The leadership said that the relatives of most of the Kashmiri leaders who met them in Tihar narrated a painful tale that includes non-availability of medicines, and things required by a person on a daily basis.
The leadership appealed the heads of all rights forums across the globe that include Amnesty International, Asia Watch, and CRC urging them to conduct a thorough visit of various jails that include Kathua, Jammu, Udhampur, Kotbalwal, and also the Central Jail Srinagar to get a firsthand account of the situation. The leadership urged international organisations to build pressure on Delhi to provide the medicines and basic medical aid to the prisoners who are in need of it to prevent further deaths.
The JRL also condemned the alleged manhandling of dozens of villagers and vandalising the property worth lakhs in Mochuwara village in Shopian district during the nocturnal raid.