GENEVA: After ignoring a series of joint communications from UN human experts seeking response to the grave human rights in Indian-occupied Kashmir and India, New Delhi has finally submitted its reply to a letter that denounced the arrest of Khurram Pervaiz, a leading Kashmiri rights activist, but requesting that it should not be made public.

“The (Indian) government’s reply is not made public due to its confidential nature,” the Office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Thursday, APP reported.

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Pervaiz was arrested on November 22, 2021 by India’s top intelligence agency prompting a group of UN human rights experts to demand an explanation from the Indian government about the circumstances leading to the action against him.

He was picked up from his house on charges related to conspiracy and terrorism under Indian counter-terrorism legislation — the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) — and detained at the Rohini Jail Complex, one of the three most overcrowded and unsanitary prisons in the country, where there was a clear and immediate risk to his health and safety, in particular from COVID-19.

The amendment introduced in July 2019 to the UAPA, allows any individual to be designated as a “terrorist”, bypassing the requirement to establish membership or association with banned groups. This expansion of State agencies’ discretionary powers under the anti-terror law has resulted in a worrisome rise in the number of arrests across India – and especially in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

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