Srinagar: Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) Wednesday held the state police responsible for forcing the youth to join militant ranks. The JRL said that torture, humiliation and aggression adopted by the police is compelling the youth to join militants. The leaders also termed a CID report published in the media as ‘ridiculous and absurd’.

“CID report and other news items published by section of media blaming Kashmiri inmates are most ridiculous and absurd,” JRL comprising Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Muhammad Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik said.

Terming CID report regarding central jail Srinagar as most ‘illogical, ridiculous and bundle of lies’, JRL said that following recent escape of an inmate from SMHS hospital, the rulers, their agencies and police have started penalizing political prisoners and other inmates especially in the central jail Srinagar.

JRL leaders said that after a series of ‘false and concocted’ reports by some journalists, ‘bias Indian media’ channels and papers, dozens of innocent political inmates have been shifted to outside valley jails but to tighten noose against other inmates ridiculous reports are being framed and spread through media and other means.

They said CID has today released a report in media in which it has said that central jail Srinagar is being used as main recruitment hub by militants and youth are being selected and lured from here to join the armed struggle.

Terming CID report, blaming traditional Ameer-I-Zindan institution for all mess and terming it as a parallel administration running and facilitating militancy as ‘a blatant lie’, JRL said that from Mahaz-I-Raishumari days in 1960’s, Ameer-I-Zindan institution has been a forum facilitating good relations between jail authorities and inmates and often this forum has benefited Jail authorities to run jails smoothly but today this forum is also being slandered to inflict more trouble on Kashmiri inmates.

JRL said that authorities are telling us that Srinagar central jail and people lodged there are promoting, recruiting and facilitating militancy from this jail. “This is a deliberate attempt to shift blame as it is not the central jail or other raison d’être but it is police torture, humiliation and aggression that is responsible for the youth joining the armed struggle,” the leadership said.

JRL said that one inmate escaped from SMHS but five others who were with him at the same hospital returned back to jail on their own. “Nobody is discussing this aspect of the story but instead of that those who chose to return back are now being victimized and terrorized by police, CID and agencies and are being blamed for recruiting militants,” they said.

They said that prior to 1988, it was police atrocities, torture and humiliations which pushed a whole generation to the wall and youth of Kashmir were forced to pick guns and start a new phase of people’s resistance.

“From 2008 till today, Kashmiris at the behest of international community transformed their struggle ,started a new non-violent revolution and are continuing with it but instead of honoring this peaceful gesture of Kashmiris, India chose to crush it with iron fist and killed hundreds of young, old, men and women including children with impunity,” they said.

JRL said during these years, thousands of young Kashmiris who joined peaceful resistance were arrested, tortured, maimed, and humiliated by police and agencies. Police stations have been turned into worst torture centers where besides beating the young boys, their mothers, sisters and families are being showered with abuses and humiliated with utmost shamelessness.

“The police and agency behavior is responsible for pushing our new generation towards armed struggle and not some jail inmates who are being victimized for the crimes committed by rulers and their authorities,” the JRL said.

They said victimizing Kashmiri inmates on the pretext of an escape incident is actually a part of operation all out that is going on all levels to defeat Kashmiri resistance and freedom struggle.

“The Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti recently warned Kashmiris of bringing thousands guns and establishing new forces camps and torture centers. We want to tell her that go ahead and repeat what your father did in 1990 and inflict miseries on Kashmiris but you will find our resistance going strong day by day (Insha-Allah),” they said.

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