Hafiz Naeem terms India’s sentencing of Kashmiri women leaders ‘murder of justice’

LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Pakistan chief Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman on Wednesday strongly condemned the sentencing of Kashmiri women leaders by India, calling it a “murder of justice.”

An Indian special court on Tuesday sentenced Asiya Andrabi to life imprisonment, while her two associates, Fehmeeda Sofi and Nahida Nasreen, were handed 30-year prison terms under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Asiya Andrabi is the founder of the Kashmiri rights group Dukhtaran-i-Millat (Daughters of the Nation).

In a statement on X, Hafiz Naeem described the imprisoned Kashmiri women as symbols of resistance against what he called Indian occupation.

“Our Kashmiri sisters, who have been imprisoned for eight years in the notorious Tihar Jail in Delhi, stand as a symbol of resistance,” he said.

He added that the Indian court, “in a murder of justice,” had handed down harsh sentences to the women leaders. “The sacrifices of the Kashmiri people will not go to waste,” he said.

The JI chief urged the Government of Pakistan to more effectively advocate the Kashmir cause, rather than relying on external assurances from US President Donald Trump, and to present the case of the occupied valley more forcefully at international forums.

Earlier, Pakistan also strongly condemned the sentences awarded to the Kashmiri women leaders and called for international attention to the human rights situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

According to the Foreign Office, Pakistan categorically rejects the life sentence awarded to Asiya Andrabi, as well as the harsh 30-year sentences imposed on her associates under what it termed a draconian law.