Pakistan expresses concerns over health of Kashmiri leaders incarcerated in Indian jails

• Most of the Indian jails are overcrowded and do not have any provision against the COVID-19, says FO.
• Reportedly, some Kashmiri leaders in Indian jails have already contracted coronavirus.
• Unfortunately, they are not even provided any medical treatment, says FO.

Pakistan on Thursday expressed concerns over the health and safety of incarcerated Kashmiri leaders, as well as other innocent Kashmiris, languishing in jails across India on trumped-up charges.

Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri, in his weekly media briefing, said the coronavirus situation in India has been worsening and most of the jails are overcrowded and do not have any provisions against the COVID-19.

The incarcerated Kashmiri leaders include Aasiya Andrabi, Muhammad Yasin Malik, Shabir Ahmed Shah, Ashraf Sehrai, Advocate Shahid-ul-Islam, Altaf Ahmed Shah, Nayeem Ahmed Khan, Ayaz Akbar, Peer Saifullah, Raja Merajuddin Kalwal, Syed Shahid Yousuf, Shakeel Ahmed, Farooq Ahmed Dar, Fehmeeda Sofi, Nahida Nasreen, Zahoor Ahmed, and others.

"Reportedly, some of the Kashmiri leaders in Indian jails have already contracted the coronavirus. Unfortunately, they are not even provided any medical treatment," the spokesperson said.

Given the worst pandemic situation in India, the Indian government must immediately release the incarcerated Kashmiri leadership and all innocent Kashmiris, he demanded.

"We once again call upon the international community, particularly the United Nations, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and human rights organisations to take cognisance of this dire humanitarian situation," he said.

However, he reiterated Pakistan's expression of solidarity with the people of India in the wake of the current wave of COVID-19 that has hit the region hard.

As a gesture of solidarity, Pakistan has also offered relief support to India, he said, adding: "We are ready to immediately provide ventilators, Bi-PAP, digital X-ray machines, PPEs, and related items."

Regarding Dr Aafia Siddiqui, he said the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington DC and the Consulate-General in Houston remain in contact with her and her attorney.

Upon seeing media reports, Pakistan's mission has once again contacted the concerned US authorities and did not receive any such information as is being reported in the media.

"Our Mission has made an urgent request for another consular access/visitation to Aafia Siddiqui. The mission will remain in contact with the concerned US authorities regarding Siddiqui’s welfare," he added.

India's disaster deepens

Meanwhile, India's coronavirus disaster deepened today with its daily death toll climbing above 3,600, as more than 40 countries sent urgent medical aid to help the country tackle the spiraling crisis.

The United States and several European nations have started to ease restrictions this week as vaccination campaigns have picked up, but the pandemic continues to worsen in many parts of the world.

Among the most devastating of those waves is in India, where death and infection rates have been rising exponentially throughout April.

On Thursday, India reported 3,645 deaths over the past 24 hours, while confirmed new cases hit a new global record with more than 379,000. The official numbers are widely believed to be far lower than the reality.

In many Indian cities, hospitals are running out of beds as relatives of the sick crowd outside pharmacies and suppliers for medicines and oxygen cylinders.

The spiking body count has also overwhelmed crematoriums and graveyards and caused a shortage of wood for funeral pyres.

Chairman Kashmir Council Europe raises concerns

Later, Chairman Kashmir Council Europe (KC-EU)Ali Raza Syed warned that threats to the life of the Kashmiri detainees in the Indian jails had increased as "two prisoners died due to COVID in most crowded Tihar prison this week".

In a statement from Brussels, he cited Indian media as saying that two prisoners, housed in Tihar jail, have died of COVID-19 on Tuesday night, as the infection continues to spread rapidly among other prisoners through the country’s most populated prison complex.

"The media reports said that since current month of April, Tihar has reported 284 cases of COVID-19 among prisoners and 115 among jailers, raising fears of a mass infection spread inside the jail, where over 20,500 prisoners currently housed, counting the highest number ever in the jail’s history," the statement said.

Syed said most Kashmiris are detained in Tihar Jail, where currently hundreds of prisoners have been infected with the coronavirus.

He said as many of the Kashmiri inmates are diabetic and reliant on medicine, the coronavirus is more fatal for them. "There are also reports that a Kashmiri prisoner Shahid ul Islam already has tested positive for the disease in Tihar jail, while some others including Farooq Ahmad Dar (Bitta Karate) has similar symptoms but neither they are being tested, nor they are being treated. "

"Moreover, prominent figures like Muhammad Yasin Malik, Aasiya Andrabi, and Shabir Shah are on life-saving drugs and the raging pandemic in Indian jails could prove fatal for such patients," he said.

Chair of KC-EU called for the immediate release of oppressed Kashmiris imprisoned in Tihar and other Indian jails as their rapid release is necessary for the protection of their lives.