Kot Bhalwal jail has become a death trap for prisoners: Altaf Hussain Wani
ISLAMABAD, August 18 (SABAH): Taking strong exception to killing of under trial prisoners in stage-managed encounters at the hands of the Indian army, the Chairman Kashmir Institute of International Relations (KIIR) Altaf Hussain Wani has said that Kot Bhalwal jail has become a new death trap for hapless Kashmiri and Pakistani prisoners.
“It is quite ridiculous to see that prisoners are being used as scapegoats and killed by the Indian army in fake encounters after being labeled as militants”, Altaf Hussain Wani said in a statement issued here on Thursday.
While terming the assertions of Additional Director General of Police, Jammu zone, as a cock and bull story, he said that Mohammad Ali Hussain was killed in a fake encounter the way Zia Mustafa-a citizen of Azad Kashmir- was killed last year. “Zia was also lodged in the same jail. He was taken out from the jail and rushed down to the woods in Bhatta Durrian area of Poonch district where he was killed during a so-called cordon and search operation”.
The murder of Hussain alias Jehangir, he said, was conducted in the same fashion. “Like Zia Mustafa, Hussain was also driven out of the jail in the dead of night and later killed in the Phallian Mandal area near LoC”, Wani added.
The killing of prisoners one after the other, he said, had sent shock waves down the spine of prisoners logged in the Kot Bhalwal jail, which he said has become a new death trap for under trial Kashmiri and Pakistani prisoners booked under trumped up charges.
Hussain’s killing under mysterious circumstances at a location far away from the prison is yet another sickening chronicle and a dastardly practice of extra-judicial killing of prisoners in fake encounters by the Indian forces. “His murder is a clear violation of international laws “, he said.
About 11500 prisoner lodged in Kote Barwal jail have gone on hunger strike after they came to know about the killing of inmate at a location far away from prison. According to reports the Muhammad Ali Hussain was told that he will be produced in a court in Bangalore in an FIR against him.
Voicing his serious concern over the plight of Kashmiri prisoners, the prominent rights activist said, “The government of India has badly failed in protecting the life of prisoners”.
“Instead of protecting their lives and ensuring every prisoner a safe environment the Indian government especially its security apparatus in Kashmir have been engaged in a shameless practice of making these vulnerable prisoners as scapegoats to hide their fiasco and putting blame on resistance fighters”, Altaf Hussain Wani said.
While seeking world HR bodied urgent attention towards the cold-blooded murder of Ali Hussain, the KIIR chief reiterated his call for a credible and transparent investigation into such incidents to ensure justice.
The KIIR chief also urged the UN and other relevant bodies to influence upon the government of India to fulfill its obligations to ensure the safety, security and humane treatment of all Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails/detention centres pending their release or repatriation. He demanded an international investigation of this incident.