Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party has sought the urgent attention of the United Nations and other human rights organizations towards the plight of Kashmiri prisoners who continue to languish in Indian jails for the past several years.

In a statement issued here, the DFP spokesman, Advocate Arshad Iqbal, said that it was quite unfortunate that the Indian authorities have criminalised political dissent in the region, which has led to the incarceration of Kashmiri political activists.

He said that prominent Kashmiri leaders, including Shabbir Ahmed Shah, Muhammad Yasin Malik, Mussarat Aalam, Syeda Asia Andrabi, and dozens of others, who have been in jail for many years in fake and fabricated cases, were being punished solely for raising their voice for justice and for their fearless advocacy of Kashmiris' right to self-determination.

He said that the world must take effective notice of the Indian government's majoritarian policies that have led to the ruthless suppression of democratic dissent and relentless repression of political and human rights in the region.

Highlighting the plight of Kashmiri prisoners, the spokesman said that they were being deprived of basic amenities of life, including hygienic food, water, and medicine. He said that denial of bail pleas were also used as an effective legal instrument to prolong detention period of these leaders.

He appealed to the United Nations, OIC, European Union, and international human rights organizations to take immediate action to save the lives of these Kashmiri leaders, whose lives, he said, were at grave risk.

He warned India that any move that undermines the very lives of Kashmiri freedom fighters would have far-reaching consequences.

He voiced his serious concern over a petition filed to convert the life sentence of Kashmiri leader Yasin Malik into the death penalty, terming it an act of utter injustice and cruelty.

He reiterated that Yasin Malik, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, and other Kashmiri leaders have dedicated their entire lives to the freedom of Kashmir.

'Since their lives are in grave danger, it is high time that international institutions and organizations should play their role for their effective treatment and immediate release,' the spokesman said.