Independent observers term it A Grave Attack on Freedom of Expression
Altaf Hamid Rao
MIRPUR ( AJK),(Parliament Times):
India blocked US-based veteran Kashmiri political and peace activist lm@Rajammuzaffar’s Account on Thursday, which independent observers described as grave attack on freedom of expression, it was officially stated by the US-based Dallas Peace & Justice Center.
“We strongly condemn the Indian government’s decision to block the X (formerly Twitter) account of veteran US-based well-Kashmiri political leader and peace activist @Rajammuzaffar (also Acting Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (Yasin Malik). This action represents retaliation based on political expression and constitutes a direct violation of international human rights standards — including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) — both of which India is obligated to uphold”, says a message reaching and released to the media here on Friday.
“The Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s use of Section 69A of the IT Act, 2000 to silence dissenting voices online exposes a disturbing pattern of digital censorship and repression. Such acts, especially when targeted at Kashmiri voices, reflect the government’s growing intolerance toward criticism and its fear of truth-telling”, the message said
“We call upon international human rights organizations, global civil society, and press freedom groups to denounce this crackdown and to urge India to respect freedom of speech in the digital sphere.Freedom of expression is the cornerstone of every democratic society”, the message further said concluding that Silencing one individual’s voice is not just an attack on a person — it is an assault on the collective freedom of a people. We stand in solidarity with the people of Kashmir and all those whose voices are being suppressed”.