National News

ISLAMABAD, (APP): The Jammu and Kashmir Muslim League (JKML) has
said that the puppet administration is hell bent upon prolonging the illegal
detention of its Chairman, Masarrat Aalam Butt.
The JKML General Secretary, Muhammad Rafiq Ganai, in an interview in
Srinagar said that Masarrat Aalam had been booked in 49 FIRs till date since
1990. “Out of these 49 FIRs, courts have bailed him out in 35 cases and
acquitted him in six cases.
In rest of eight cases, he is facing trial in Srinagar court and one in
Baramulla court,” he said.Rafiq Ganai said that the JKML Chairman was time and again detained under draconian law, Public Safety Act (PSA), on false or
unreasonable grounds and so far he had spent 19 years in different
jails, Kashmir Media service reported.
“He had been lodged in various jails including Kot Bhalwal, Sangroor
(Indian Punjab), Udhampur, Rajouri, Kathua, Baramulla and Srinagar Central
Jail,” he said.
The JKML spokesman, Sajad Ayoobi, in an interview said that courts had
quashed PSAs on Masarrat Aalam almost every time. “Out of 32 PSAs invoked
against him, Masarrat Aalam completed the term in jail under detention orders six times and in six cases the authorities revoked PSA against him but only to slap fresh one.
In rest of the cases, the court quashed the detention orders,” he added.
He said that there was no justification for the puppet administration to keep Masarrat Aalam Butt under custody when the High Court had quashed his PSA again.
“The move is political vendetta. On the directions of authorities, now
the police will find another false case against Masarrat Aalam to justify his arrest. We strongly condemn his re-arrest,” he said.
It is to mention here that the occupation authorities have booked the
JKML Chairman in 49 cases since 1990 and 32 times under the PSA. In most of
these 49 cases, he has either been acquitted or bailed out by the courts. He
has spent 19 years in different jails since 1990 till date.
He is presently lodged in sub-jail Baramulla in a case registered
against him in Srinagar’s Shaheed Gunj police station in 2010.