Family of Kashmiri student jailed for praising Pakistani team awaits his return

Family of Kashmiri student jailed for praising Pakistani team awaits his return

Family of Kashmiri student jailed for praising Pakistani team awaits his return

Showkat Ahmad Ganai. Image: BBC

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The family of one of the three Kashmiri students, facing sedition charges for celebrating the victory of Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2021 game against India back in October, is calling for his release.

Showkat Ahmad Ganai, who lives in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), has been in jail for two months now along with his two friends.

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Their crime? They supported Pakistan in the T20 match against India on October 24.

In an interview with BBC, Showkat’s sister Fancy Bano said that his detained brother had exchanged some messages with his friends when the mega event’s match was played between the two countries.

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It was the crime for which Showkat was put behind the bars, she added.

Showkat, Inayat and Arshid were watching the match at a college in Agra city. As Pakistan knocked down the arch-rival, the students shared messages praising the winning team and captain Babar Azam.

 

In the first information report (FIR), the students were charged with making pro-Pakistan slogans on the college’s campus. However, the college management says ‘it has never happened’.

The suspects are detained in the high-security jail of Agra, facing charges of sedition and have nobody to defend them as local lawyers have refused to take up their case.

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Nitin Verma, a representative of the Young Lawyers’ Association of Agra, told BBC, “What they have done has hurt our feelings. That is why we decided that we wouldn’t represent them.”

A spokesperson for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) told BBC that the apprehension was necessary to keep law and order in place.

Requesting the officials to release Showkat, his sister Bano said that they miss him and he was “our hope for our future”.

Read more: Indian troops martyred 2 more young Kashmiris in Srinagar

Showkat’s mother Hafiza Begum is also worried about her son’s future and said her family has not eaten properly for the last two months.

“My heart burns for my son. Each day passes with a lot of difficulties,” she told the BBC with tears in her eyes.

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