Ummat- e-Islami (UeI) Jammu and Kashmir and Mirwaiz south Kashmir Qazi Ahmad Yasir today condemned the harassment of people in the remote village of south Kashmir’s Shopian district allegedly by the armed forces.
“The inhabitants of these areas are living under constant fear and many youth have been thrashed during anti- militancy operations and cordon and search operations which are an everyday affair in these areas,” a spokesman of the UeT, in a statement today, quoted Qazi Yasir as having said while addressing a press conference today at his residence.
Qazi Yasir said, “In an area of Shopian district, a new army camp has come up and the villagers in the area are not allowed to offer the pre-dawn (Fajr) and night (Isha) prayers in the mosque. The villagers are living under fear as the area has been turned into a monitored zone.”
“In another nearby village, the people have similar complaints, their property has been damaged several times and the inmates thrashed severely. The villagers are living under a constant scrutiny. Many youth from the villages are detained and tortured in custody. With nobody to plead their case,” Yasir said.
He said, “more camps are coming up in South Kashmir which is making the life of people terrible here in Islamabad (Anantnag). A road in the outskirts of Islamabad (Anantnag) has been blocked as a new army camp has come up. I will not name the places for the fear of inhabitants being assaulted or harassed by forces. I visited the areas only after I got constant calls from the locals. It is our collective duty to help people come out of this fear.”