Srinagar June 4: J&K Peoples’ Movement (JKPM) Vice-President Advocate Syed Iqbal Tahir on Thursday welcomed revocation of PSA and release of JKPM President Dr Shah Faesal after ten eight months of detention.
In a statement, Iqbal Tahir said that Dr Shah Faesal is the pride of Jammu & Kashmir and a symbol of hope to people across the state.
Dr Faesal joined public life to bring in a sense of honesty and empathy in politics. By imposing PSA upon Dr Faesal, the government undermined the democratic forces in J&K and thereby alienated youth of J&K. However, his release after a gap of 10 months is quite a relief for the party members and supporters and they are glad to see him out of jail.
“At this occasion, it is a matter of serious concern that thousands of political prisoners in J&K continue to be in detention. The constitution of India guarantees fundamental rights and civil liberties to all persons and keeping such persons in illegal confinement under preventive detention laws is not only undemocratic but also unconstitutional” Iqbal Tahir said in his statement.
He further stated that India is a democratic country and democracy is a battle of ideas. In a democracy, there has to be a space for dissent and differing views. Dissent acts as a safety valve for democracy. Voice of political opponents cannot be throttled by putting them in illegal detention. So, we demand that the government must unconditionally release all the political prisoners in J&K including those under house arrest.
