New Delhi, September 16: Kashmir-based civil rights group Awami-e-Tehreek organised a peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar here on Wednesday, raising a four-point charter of political, constitutional and humanitarian demands concerning Jammu & Kashmir.
According to the organisation, permission for the proposed protest was denied by authorities at the last moment. The organisers said participants nevertheless remained peaceful and used the gathering to put forward their demands before the public and the Union Government.
A memorandum addressed to the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister was also prepared, outlining the organisation’s four principal demands.
The group sought the early release of political prisoners and detainees wherever legally permissible, and urged authorities to facilitate the transfer of such prisoners from jails outside Jammu & Kashmir to appropriate facilities within the region, wherever legally and administratively possible.
The organisation said the geographical distance between prisoners and their families often causes additional hardship and called for measures to address the issue.
The second demand was for the early restoration of full statehood to Jammu & Kashmir, along with safeguards for land, employment and economic interests of its people.
The group also reiterated its demand for the safe, honourable and dignified return of Kashmiri Pandits to their homeland. It said their return and rehabilitation should be pursued through reconciliation, dialogue, security and dignity.
The fourth demand concerned constitutional guarantees and protection of freedom of speech and democratic expression, subject to the Constitution and applicable law.
Speakers at the protest said democratic space and peaceful expression were necessary to rebuild public confidence and strengthen the relationship between the people of Jammu & Kashmir and democratic institutions.
“We came here to speak, not to create confrontation. Permission may have been denied at the eleventh hour, but the voice of Jammu & Kashmir cannot be denied,” the organisers said, adding that they would continue to raise their demands through “democratic and constitutional means”.
The speakers also called for political engagement on issues concerning Jammu & Kashmir, arguing that such matters should not be addressed solely through an administrative or security framework.
The gathering was addressed by Awami-e-Tehreek president Waqar H. Bati; political activist Iftikhar Misgar; socio-political activist Angad Singh Khalsa; Mirwaiz North Kashmir Kash Hassan Firdosi; Centre for Peace and Progress chairman O.P. Shah; Awami National Conference president Muzaffar Shah; socio-political activist Adil Nazir Khan; journalist Tassudiq Bhat; student activist Nasir Khumani; All India Muslim Personal Law Board vice-president Ubaid Ullah Khan Aazmi; former MP Mohammed Adeeb; Freedom Press chief editor Anzur-ul-Bari; Minority Cell general secretary Ashok Kumar Bhat; and Hafiz Mohammed Hashm Malik of the Combined Movement for Constitutional Rights of Minorities.
The organisation urged the Union Government to initiate a structured dialogue with representatives of civil society and different sections of Jammu & Kashmir and provide a roadmap on the issues raised in the memorandum.
It said lasting peace in Jammu & Kashmir required political dialogue, democratic space, constitutional safeguards and dignity for all communities.
