By FK WEB DESK on 23/03/2019.

Wide range of arrests, raids and harassment of party leadership since yester night is highly condemnable. // Abdul Hameed Butt, acting Chairman JKLF

   Srinagar, 23 March: The acting chairman of JKLF, Mr. Abdul Hameed Butt has in categorical terms rejected banning of JKLF by Indian MHA and has termed it as frustration and election stunt of Modi mindset. Mr. Butt said that such undemocratic and immoral Indian acts can’t subdue our national resolve of freedom. He said every citizen of JK and each and every JKLF member will fight these acts with valor and passion.

        While elaborating the party policy, Butt stated that world knows that JKLF in 1987-88 with the inception of military struggle against India succeeded in high-lighting and diverting the attention of International community towards the UN recognized and dust bound Kashmir issue. Later after the persuasion of International community and Indian civil society JKLF renounced its militant wing in 1994 and tread the path of peaceful and non-violent struggle for freedom and right of self-determination, he said. Mr. Butt castigated Indian authorities for not sparing JKLF even after announcement of the ceasefire. He said that Indian forces killed more than 600 party cadres and that our chairman, Muhammad Yasin Malik evaded 6 life attempts. He said India tried to push Yasin Malik and his associates back to militancy for not providing any political space but it was his strong commitment of peaceful struggle that he did not fell prey to Indian plan.

        Butt said that banning our party is not a new thing for us to face. In early nineties the then Indian Indian Home Minister Lt. Mufti Muhammad Saeed through the then so called State governor Mr. Jagmohan banned JKLF and on our challenge, it was in 2001 when a tribunal of Supreme Court of India after marathon testimonies announced the banning of JKLF as unlawful and un-called for. Soon after lifting the ban our party led by its chairman M. Yasin Malik undertook most famous eighteen month long signature campaign, 116 day long freedom march, hunger strikes, volunteer arrests and countless peaceful and non-violent protests, he said. Even the two PM’s of India Lt. Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Dr. Manmohan Singh met JKLF delegation led by Yasin Malik. Butt said that Yasin Malik and our worldwide party cadres represented the people of Kashmir at different international forums, met with world leaders and their representatives, attended international and regional conferences and deliberated with the representatives of international and regional human rights organizations during their visits to USA, UK, EU and other relevant places. Thus it was JKLF and its party chairman Yasin Malik that demonstrated and encouraged the citizens of Kashmir to tread to the path of non-violence. Amnesty International in 1992 declared Yasin Malik as the prisoner of conscience when he was under Indian custody in Delhi Tihar Jail.

        Abdul Hameed Butt castigated Indian authorities on mischievous grounds of banning JKLF and termed them as bogus and malafide. Killing of Kashmiri pandits, raising funds, cases of killing people, terror funding and waging war against Indian State are nothing but ill designed cases to malign the leadership of JKLF and to force them to shun the path of freedom. Arresting and shifting the party chairman Yasin Malik to Jammu jail under the draconian law of PSA, arresting and terrorizing the rest of the senior party leadership after the announcement of ban on JKLF and harassing the party members including the party sympathizers is solely being carried out by Modi government to lure the Indian voters in his favor in forthcoming Indian parliamentary elections.

Mr. Butt directed his party cadre to follow the programes being announced by JRL to show unity at this tough and crucial point in time.