SRINAGAR — Kashmiri leaders continue to face unprecedented and inhumane crackdown under Modi-led Indian government, marked by arrests, prolonged detentions, and the systematic silencing of dissent.
Using stringent laws and security agencies, New Delhi targeted voices advocating Kashmir’s political aspirations, drawing sharp criticism from human rights groups and deepening anger across the occupied region. Tensions surged latley across Jammu and Kashmir after an Indian court convicted prominent pro-independence leader Asiya Andrabi, intensifying New Delhi’s sweeping crackdown on Kashmiri separatist leadership.
The verdict is widely condemned as politically motivated, and also sparked outrage among separatist groups and rights advocates in both sides of Kashmir.
Amid the crackdown, Asiya Andrabi, the founder and chief of women-led separatist organization Dukhtaran-e-Millat — was found guilty in a case linked to the decades-old Kashmir conflict. Alongside her, senior separatist activists Fahmida Soofi and Naheedah Nasreen were also convicted. The court is scheduled to announce sentence on January 17.
The convictions come at time of heightened unrest in the disputed region, where Modi led government continues to face mounting criticism over its aggressive policies against Kashmiri political dissent. The case was tried under India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA), a powerful body frequently accused by critics of being used to silence political opposition under the guise of national security.
Asiya Andrabi remained among most dissent female voices advocating for Kashmir’s independence from Indian rule. She was held in mid-2018, she has remained behind bars on charges her supporters insist were fabricated to crush the separatist movement.
Adding to the controversy is the prolonged imprisonment of Andrabi’s husband, Ashiq Hussain, who has reportedly been incarcerated for nearly three decades on what separatist groups describe as false and politically engineered charges.
Kashmiri separatist organizations have strongly condemned the convictions, declaring that continued arrests, trials, and repression will not silence the Kashmiri struggle for freedom. They assert that such actions only deepen resentment and fuel resistance among the Kashmiri people.
OIC slams prolonged detention of Kashmiri leader Asiya Andrabi
