SRINAGAR (Kashmir English): The property of Pakistan-based Jammu and Kashmir People’s League leader Muhammad Yaqoob Sheikh has been seized in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir(IIOJ&K).
The administration seized Muhammad Yaqoob Sheik’s house and four marlas of land in the Pampore area of Pulwama district.
Muhammad Yaqoob Sheikh, affiliated with the pro-independence organization Jammu and Kashmir People’s League, is currently residing in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
He migrated to Azad Kashmir due to Indian atrocities. Muhammad Yaqoob Sheikh is the younger brother of Sheikh Abdul Aziz Shaheed, a senior leader of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference.
Sheikh Abdul Aziz was martyred by Indian troops on August 11, 2008, in the Uri area of Baramulla district, when he was leading a big march against the economic blockade of the Kashmir Valley by Hindu extremists.
Earlier, on November 12, the two-storey residential house of senior advocate and former president of the Kashmir Bar Association, Mian Qayyum, was seized in Srinagar.
This action was taken in connection with a case registered regarding Mian Qayyum’s participation in an ‘anti-India seminar’ in 2009.
Mian Qayyum is currently in Indian custody.
Meanwhile, the senior leader of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, has said that the people of Kashmir are currently facing extreme powerlessness and despair.
Addressing a gathering in Srinagar, Mirwaiz said that he has repeatedly made it clear that the pulpit and mihrab of the Jama Masjid represent the voice of the people and the people of Kashmir.
He added that “The constitutional autonomy given to the people of Jammu and Kashmir by the Indian government was also taken away in August 2019, when the state was converted into a Union Territory, and land and employment rights were also taken away from them.”
“Immediately after this, concerns about demographic changes created severe fear among the people, he said, while adding that restrictions on freedom of expression, an atmosphere of constant surveillance, the fear of arbitrary dismissal from jobs, and confiscation of land and property, constant raids and arrests by investigative agencies have made the situation more serious.
Farooq further said that “Along with this, rising unemployment among the youth and the blocking of employment opportunities due to the discriminatory reservation policy after the abrogation of Article 35A have all intensified the feeling of despair and helplessness.”
Mirwaiz said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir need to end the practice of dealing with them only from the angle of security and law and order, as former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had said, Kashmir needs to be seen from the perspective of ‘humanity’ and ‘democracy’.
He said, “It is in their power to pay attention to it or ignore it. As far as we are concerned, hope for the better and faith in Allah Almighty are our only support.
