Sentencing Asiya Andrabi, Fehmida Sofi and Nahida Nasreen is stark miscarriage of Justice.
Syed Faiz Naqshbandi
The disappearance of justice in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir is not a matter of isolated abuses; it is a systemic collapse. It is the face of an longstanding Indian occupation that has replaced law with force, rights with repression, and accountability with impunity.
Justice is the bedrock of civilization. Where justice vanishes, tyranny fills the void. In Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir the rule of law has been replaced by the rule of force with impunity. For decades, India has subjected Kashmiris to an unprecedented assault on justice. Heavy militarization, extraordinary legal measures, and a judicial system rendered powerless have dismantled the foundations of accountability. Here, India the occupier is both the accuser and the judge. And the people of Kashmir are left without recourse.
Indian special court of the National Investigation Agency had on March 24, 2026 sentenced Asiya Andrabi for twice life imprisonment and Fehmida Sofi and Nahida Nasreen for thirty years each imprisonment in a fabricated and concocted cases. This epitomizes the deepening disappearance of justice, where legal processes are tools of political repression for people of Indian Occupied Kashmir rather than impartial adjudication. Their prolonged detention and harsh sentencing, particularly targeting Kashmiri women reflect a systemic erosion of due process, fair trial guarantees, and judicial independence.
The instruments of this legalized oppression are well known to the world but remain unchecked: amongst others, the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), which grants security forces the license to kill with legal immunity; the Public Safety Act (PSA), which enables indefinite detention without trial; and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), which criminalizes dissent as terrorism. These laws empower Indian forces to arrest without warrant, search and destroy property on mere suspicion, and use lethal force with near-total impunity. They have created a system where the abuser is shielded and the victim silenced.
The collapse of justice is more evident in the courts of occupied Jammu and Kashmir and other courts of India for Kashmiris. Hundreds of habeas corpus petitions, the most fundamental safeguard against unlawful detention, remain pending for years together . Families of those disappeared or held under preventive detention approach the judiciary with desperate pleas for the production of their loved ones. Their cries are met with procedural delays, adjournments, and sometimes disregard by government. For a Kashmiri, the courthouse has ceased to be a sanctuary of justice; it has become another site of despair.This judicial paralysis is not accidental. It is the product of a deliberate design.
From the standpoint of international law, India’s actions in occupied Jammu and Kashmir constitute grave violations of binding treaty obligations. As a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), India has committed to uphold the right to life, freedom from arbitrary detention, freedom of expression, and the right to an effective remedy. Yet in Kashmir, every one of these rights is systematically violated.
The Convention Against Torture (CAT) and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance impose a clear duty: investigate all allegations of torture, unlawful detention, and disappearances promptly and transparently. In Kashmir, these duties are ignored. Perpetrators walk free. Victims remain buried in silence.
The patterns are unmistakable: arbitrary detention in violation of ICCPR Articles 9 and 14; denial of fair trial; suppression of expression under Article 19; torture that flouts Article 7 and CAT; and the refusal of any effective remedy—a direct violation of Article 2(3) of the ICCPR. India stands in breach not only of its own constitutional promises but of its binding commitments under United Nations frameworks and the relevant Security Council resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir.
Peace, security, and stability in the region will remain a distant mirage unless the international community demands accountability. The United Nations resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir must be implemented. Otherwise the continuation of Indian occupation will further destabilization the region with catastrophic humanitarian crises.
The author is a senior leader of the All Parties Hurriyet Conference (APHC) and a legal expert in international law. He can be reached at [email protected].