Islamabad
\nPakistan on Tuesday denounced Indian authorities\u2019 decision to declare several political parties of India-occupied Kashmir as \u201cunlawful associations\u201d. In a statement, the Foreign Office said: \u201cPakistan denounces the Indian authorities\u2019 decision to declare the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Freedom League (JKPFL) and four factions of Jammu and Kashmir Peoples League (JKPL) as \u2018unlawful associations\u2019.\u201d
\nIt also denounced the decision to \u201cextend the ban on Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) (Mohd. Yasin Malik faction) for five more years\u201d. Last week, the India home ministry declared the Yasin Malik faction of the JKLF as an \u201cunlawful association\u201d and designated the JKPFL as a banned group for five years \u201cfor abetting secession\u201d, according to Times of India.
\nThe report added that the ministry also declared four factions of the JKPL \u2014 of Mukhtar Ahmed Waza, Bashir Ahmad Tota, Ghulam Mohammad Khan and Aziz Sheikh led by Yaqoob Sheikh \u2014 as \u201cunlawful associations\u201d for alleged involvement in inciting terror in the region.
\nAccording to The Hindu, the decision came hours before the dates for elections to the Lok Sabha, the Indian parliament\u2019s lower house, were announced. The move was made under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
\nIn its statement today, the FO noted that with the fresh notifications, a total of 14 political parties \u201chave become outlawed in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK)\u201d. \u201cThe affiliates of these parties are also facing persecution,\u201d it added.
\nThe statement recalled that a death penalty had been sought for Malik, the JKLF chief who was given a life sentence in 2022.
\n\u201cHowever, such oppressive tactics cannot suppress the Kashmiri people\u2019s aspirations for [the] realisation of their inalienable right to self-determination, as enshrined in the relevant UN Security Council resolutions,\u201d the FO asserted.
\n\u201cIndia\u2019s ongoing campaign to crush dissent in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) contravenes the international human rights and humanitarian law as well as democratic norms,\u201d it added.
\nThe FO urged the Indian government to lift the curbs on the banned parties; release all political prisoners, including Malik; and implement the UNSC resolutions on India-occupied Kashmir.
\nEarlier this year, the FO had condemned India\u2019s decision to declare the Tehreek-i-Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir (TeH) as an \u201cunlawful association\u201d for five years.
\nDays before that, India had also banned the Muslim League Jammu Kashmir (Masarat Alam faction), or MLJK-MA, declaring it an \u201cunlawful association\u201d as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamabad Pakistan on Tuesday denounced Indian authorities\u2019 decision to declare several political parties of India-occupied Kashmir as \u201cunlawful associations\u201d. In a statement, the Foreign Office said: \u201cPakistan denounces the Indian authorities\u2019 decision to declare the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Freedom League (JKPFL) and four factions of Jammu and Kashmir Peoples League (JKPL) as \u2018unlawful associations\u2019.\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":380218,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[554],"class_list":{"0":"post-394909","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news","8":"tag-foreign-office"},"yoast_head":"\n