Srinagar: Lawyers on Tuesday staged a protest in Srinagar against the summoning of High Court Bar Association president Mian Abdul Qayoom for questioning by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in a case related to funding of “subversive activities” in Kashmir. Strongly condemning NIA for summoning, President Bar association Mian Abdul Qayoom to Delhi for interrogation, Syed Ali Geelani on Tuesday said that it is a deep-rooted ploy aimed at to deprive prisoners and victims of state sponsored victims from assistance provided by legal experts.
The lawyers who assembled outside the Jammu and Kashmir High Court complex were raising slogans against the NIA. They were carrying placards with messages like ‘Stop persecuting lawyers though NIA’ and ‘Don’t use NIA to suppress and subjugate voice of people’.
Senior lawyer Zaffar A Shah said that lawyers will continue to stay away from work until Qayoom returns “with dignity” to the Valley.
Qayoom has been asked to reach the Delhi office of the NIA tomorrow to “answer certain questions” related to the funding case.
“We feel that the (NIA) notice is not bona fide. It is the outcome of a design, of a conspiracy to lower down the credibility of our public men,” Shah told journalists.
He said that the NIA could have recorded the statement of Qayoom in Srinagar as well.
“We know Mr Mian Qayoom. He is not involved in any manner in this case at all but at the same time if the NIA wanted to record his statement or to question him, we strongly condemn his summoning to New Delhi. The same thing could have been done even at Srinagar if it was a simple case of recording the statement for a witness or seeking information from him,” said Shah.
By summoning him to New Delhi, he said, “we feel that our respectable persons are being humiliated”. “We feel NIA is abusing its authority. We feel process of law is being abused,” said Shah.
Strongly criticizing NIA for summoning, President Bar association and a prominent lawyer, Mian Abdul Qayoom to Delhi for interrogation, Syed Ali Geelani on Tuesday said that it is a deep-rooted ploy aimed at to deprive prisoners and victims of state sponsored victims from assistance provided by legal experts.
Hailing lawyer’s fraternity for their selfless service for the suppressed people, Syed Ali Geelani in a statement issued here on Tuesday said that they should be mentally prepared to fight, aggressive, autocratic, illegal and immoral occupation at all levels.
The lawyer are conscious, respectable and well learned members of society, said Geelani and expressed his hope that they will fight tooth and nail, the defamation move launched by NIA.
Geelani urged resistance leadership, trader’s community, government employees, lawyer’s fraternity and all other sections to forge unity among its fold for a greater cause of right to self-determination.
It is a master key and an effective measure to face brutalities perpetrated by Indian authorities, said Geelani.
He expressed his deep concern over the setting up of new military camps in several areas of South Kashmir and said that authorities are turning whole state into a big military garrison. Geelani said that we have no other choice but to carry out our resistance movement with commitment, seriousness and discipline.
Geelani in his appeal urged international human rights organizations for their cognizance and asked to take notice of deteriorating situtaions in occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
