SRINAGAR: The Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) on Friday expressed strong resentment over the continuous house arrest of its chairman Shabir Ahmad Shah saying the state administration has crossed all limits of oppression.
In a statement issued to press, DFP secretary general Moulana Abdullah Tari said since Shah was released from jail in 2011, he has spent a period of 3 years and 8 months in detention and has been barred from offering 249 Friday and 12 Eid prayers.
“Shah Sahib has spent 31 years of his life in jails and the administration by incarcerating him is resorting to “political vengeance. His residence has been converted into a sub jail,” he said.
Criticising authorities, Tari said such “undemocratic” acts puncture the balloon of the so-called ‘battle of ideas’. He said through such actions, the administration “has validated our point that there is no such thing as ‘freedom of religion’ in the state”.
“The so-called champions of democracy should answer whether the basic rights of freedom of speech and expression are confined to ruling class only. The reality is that the ruling class lacks courage to fight us in a political way, so they resort to undemocratic means of suppression,” he said.
Meanwhile, the DFP secretary general has expressed serious concern over the inhuman attitude of authorities against the prisoners and said they are subjected to worst kind of treatment in jails. He expressed strong resentment over the shifting of several prisoners to outside state jails and said the administration has surpassed the records of Chengiz Khan and Halaku Khan. “These so-called authorities should realise that they are no more than puppets. It is extremely unfortunate and condemnable that even octogenarian persons are languishing in jails and the court orders are openly violated,” he said.
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