Asiya Andrabi | Pakistan

The Foreign Office (FO) on Wednesday condemned the awarding of a life imprisonment sentence to prominent Kashmiri leader Asiya Andrabi, as well as the 30-year prison sentences awarded to her associates Fehmeeda Sofi and Nahida Nasreen by a court in Delhi. Andrabi is the founder of a Kashmiri rights group called the Dukhtaran-i-Millat, or Daughters of the Nation. The court sentenced her, Fehmeeda and Nasreen under the Indian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) after government prosecutors alleged that Andrabi was involved in a conspiracy to carry out militant activities. In a statement posted to social media platform X, the FO said that the verdict constituted a “grave miscarriage of justice” and reflected the “continuing suppression of fundamental rights” in India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. “Pakistan views this decision as part of a broader pattern of politically motivated prosecutions aimed at silencing dissenting voices and intimidating those advocating the legitimate rights of the Kashmiri people,...

MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore on Tuesday strongly condemned the sentencing of three women activists by an Indian court, terming the verdict a manifestation of “political coercion” aimed at silencing dissent in India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. In a social media post on X, Rathore denounced the life imprisonment awarded to Kashmiri leader Asiya Andrabi, along with 30-year sentences handed down to her associates Fehmida Sofi and Nahida Nasreen by a special court of India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) in New Delhi. “These verdicts are not about justice; they are instruments of political coercion designed to criminalise dissent and suppress the legitimate voice of the Kashmiri people,” he said, adding that targeting women for their political beliefs laid bare the “deep bias” in the system. Andrabi is the founder of a Kashmiri rights group called the Dukhtaran-i-Millat, or Daughters of the Nation. The court sentenced her, Fehmeeda and Nasreen under the...