By Tehelka Web Desk
Amnesty International has criticized Pakistan’s decision to designate the Jammu and Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JKJAAC) as a “proscribed organization,” calling it a disproportionate and unlawful move that violates the right to freedom of association.
In a statement issued on Monday, Amnesty said the ban, coupled with an internet shutdown, mass arrests and the use of force against protesters in Pakistan-administered Jammu and Kashmir, reflects an alarming deterioration of human rights in the region.
The rights group was reacting to a June 5 notification placing JKJAAC under the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Terrorism Act, 2014. The organization, which advocates economic and political rights in the region, had planned a protest rally on June 9 after talks with the government broke down.
“Branding a grassroots organization as ‘terrorist’ on vague grounds, while simultaneously cutting the region off from the outside world, raises serious concerns regarding the Pakistani authorities’ conduct and their disregard for human rights. The proscription of JKJAAC under anti-terror laws is disproportionate, unlawful and a violation of the right to freedom of association,” said Isabelle Lassee, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for South Asia.
Amnesty said authorities suspended internet and mobile services until June 12, advised outsiders not to travel to the region and deployed federal paramilitary forces. It also expressed concern over the arrest of journalist Sohrab Barkat, who was detained under Pakistan’s cybercrime law for allegedly promoting JKJAAC through his YouTube channel.
The organization said more than 100 JKJAAC members and supporters were reportedly arrested on June 6 and 7, while the group’s office in Muzaffarabad was sealed.
Amnesty also called for an independent investigation into the death of JKJAAC activist Shahzeb Habib, who was shot during an encounter with police on June 5, and into the subsequent violence in Rawalakot that left at least eight protesters and four police officers dead.
“The alarming escalation of violence, including deaths of protesters, raises serious questions,” Lassee said, urging Pakistani authorities to de-escalate the situation and lift the ban on JKJAAC ahead of regional elections scheduled for July 27.
