Disturbed Areas Act root cause of Regime-Terror—Farooq Rehmani

Islamabad 09 Sept, 2011: The Chairman Jammu and Kashmir People's Freedom League Muhammad Farooq Rehmani, has urged on India to abolish Jammu and Kashmir Disturbed Areas Act,1990 to prove  her sincerity, and honesty for peace and peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue. He said the UN should help the Kashmiris to free themselves from the clutches of inhuman laws.

JKPFL Chairman said that if the Armed Forces (J and K) Special Powers Act,1990, gave Indian  forces sweeping powers, facilitating arbitrary arrests, detention and extra judicial executions  as well as destruction of property; the J &K Disturbed Areas Act,1990 was blocking the gateway to peace and acted as umbrella for the Armed Force Special Powers Act.

Muhammad Farooq Rehmani said that as long as there was the DA Act no other inhuman law including the AFSPA could be repealed; and neither detenus could be released nor would the cyclone of arrests be stopped in Kashmir. He said every Kashmiri has  his own gory story of human rights atrocities to tell as there existed the law of Disturbed Areas  which  allowed an official of the level of Head Constable to use force or shoot(and kill) under the pretext of maintaining the public order. "The Act gives the police extra ordinary powers of arrest and detention. It provides a cover to the state machinery for indiscriminate and unprovoked firing at peaceful and unarmed demonstrators, extra judicial killings and destroying or burning the property of the Kashmiris on suspicion. Besides, section 6 gives legal immunity to persons acting under this Act; no suit or prosecution can be instituted, except with the previous sanction of the government against any person in respect of anything done or purported to be done in exercise of the powers conferred by the Act."

 

The AFSPA, 1990 ordinance, introduced in July, 1990, was later enacted by the Parliament of India and enforced on 10^th September, 1990.When certain areas are declared to be "disturbed", the army and paramilitary forces receive sweeping powers under section 4(C) of this Act," he elaborated and warned that the only aim of the laws was to stall every peaceful effort of resolving Kashmir, bring Kashmiris to their knees and never open gateway of peace and human rights in Kashmir. He emphasized that the international community should understand its implication and keep Kashmir on priority of a peaceful and durable resolution.  

Muhammad Farooq Rehmani said that these black laws were self- explanatory and the world community should not hesitate to know who were behind the killings of about one hundred thousand kashmiris, enforced disappearances, thousands of unmarked graves and gang rapes of women who were perpetuating such crimes in Kashmir in the name of so called public order for the last 20 years. "This is a big question before the UN its world court and the Human Rights council but hiding or throwing dust on it is equally criminal," he concluded.