Free Waqar Campaign

Free Waqar Campaign is an ongoing e-campaign that demands release of Waqar Ahmad Moharkan, who has been detained without charge or trial by the Jammu and Kashmir police in Indian Administrated Kashmir since 4 October 2011. The campaign is led by his friends, who claim that he has been detained under an infamous Public Safety Act illegally and should be released.

Online Petitions

The website of this campaign is first of its kind in Indian Administrated Kashmir and contains "Online petitions, signature campaigns, words of solace for Waqar, messages to international human rights organizations like Amnesty International" The campaigners claim that the solidarity message written to Waqar would be mailed to Kot Balwal Jail where he is currently detained. The website keeps record of entire media coverage and shows up a news item of a leading Urdu daily in which Jammu Kashmir police claimed to have released Waqar.

Media Attention and Petition Controversy

After the campaign kick started it immediately caught attention of various news papers which carried the news. A leading udrdu newspaper of Jammu and Kashmir carried a snap short of the website on their front page. However, the website that hosted its petition immediately withdrew the petition and removed the petition from its website. Activist and journalist were angered and alleged that it a censorship of "freedom of speech". A Mumbai based lawyer and activist wrote on her blog that

"I want to ask you how can blow the horn against ban on satanic verses when you have banned a petition on your site “ For Release of Waqar “, it reeks of hypocrisy, you washed your hands off the petition by immediately disabling it with a small message..."

The campaigners retaliated by raising a new petition on another host website and continues to petition heads of Amnesty international and Human Rights Watch in India

Public Safety Act

Amnesty International (AI)in its report namely "INDIA: A 'LAWLESS LAW': DETENTIONS UNDER THE JAMMU AND KASHMIR PUBLIC SAFETY ACT" published on 12 March 2011 claims that "..instead of using the institutions, procedures and human rights safeguards of ordinary criminal justice, the authorities are using the Public Safety Act (PSA) to secure the long-term detention of political activists, suspected members or supporters of armed groups and a range of other individuals against whom there is insufficient evidence for a trial or conviction - to keep them “out of circulation.” The report also demanded that "If India is serious about meeting these obligations, then it must ensure that the Public Safety Act is repealed and that detainees are released immediately or tried in a court of law."

Arrest and detention

Waqar Ahmad Moharkan was born in Indian-Held Kashmir in 1990. Currently, he is a final year student of Bachelor's in Commerce at Srinagar's Islamia College of Science and Commerce. Waqar was arrested on 4 October 2011, during a raid on his house in Lal Bazaar on charges of participating in protests in the Downtown area of Srinagar. Waqar was arrested by police personnel from MR Gunj station. The court allowed his bail application on 23 October 2011. Instead of being released, he was rebooked by same police station and shifted to CentralJail under judicial remand on 15 December 2011 and suddenly slapped with the draconian Public Safety Act (PSA). The government, to quell the voice of dissent in, has misused this act rampantly in the last three years.

Waqar was deliberately not given a translated copy of the grounds of detention which would otherwise have enabled him to make an effective representation against the order of detention. The Police passed the PSA without informing Waqar's family, who had the right to challenge the act in court. Waqar's family was only informed about the PSA after the time to legally challenge the act had expired. This is illegal. He was lodged in Police Station MR Gunj and was illegally shifted to the Cargo Interrogation Centre for two days. Waqar's PSA stated, "You have frequently come in the adverse notice of the police for your involvement in anti-social activities aimed at disturbing the public tranquility and peace in the city. You are instrumental in mobilising the anti-social elements for creating havoc in so far as causing serious law and order problem is concerned which inevitably besides endangering human life also causes impediments in the smooth economic development of the state. Your said acts are aimed at keeping the state on boil and thereby bringing about secession of J&K from Union of India. It has also emerged that your such nefarious designs are being carried out in a well thought out manner to bring the whole Downtown area to a stand still."

These charges are not only baffling but also completely ridiculous.

The police, in the order, went on to say, "You are misusing your freedom/liberty and are indulging in activities which are prejudicial to the maintenance of security of state causing economic destabilisation in the state since last three years, you developed contacts with the like minded people affiliated with various anti-national and other disgruntled elements and has formed a gang like outfit which at every available opportunity have been found resorting to stone pelting and disturbing the public order in the area."

On 5 November 2011, Waqar was shifted to Central Jail in Srinagar under a 10-day judicial remand. Since then, Waqar has been denied a trial. Even after the end of the remand, Waqar was held in the overcrowded Central Jail and then shifted back to Police Station MR Gunj in December 2011. Waqar's father filed another application in court for allowing him to appear for his annual examinations held by the University of Kashmir. The court passed the orders to the police for granting him permission. However, due to the police highhandedness, Waqar missed his English paper despite the order. The lawyers said this was a "non-enforcement of his legal, fundamental and constitutional rights".

Pertinently, Police claimed to have taken the decision to release Waqar, whose full name and address was specifically mentioned, along with 30 other youth on the direction of an amnesty from the Chief Minister, according to a news item published on the 6th of Nov in Kashmir's leading Urdu daily Aftab. The youth were handed over to their families according to the news piece.

In December 2011, Waqar's father received a call from concerned the police station informing him that the boy will be shifted to Kotbhawal Jail overnight. Kotbhawal Jail is 300 km from Srinagar and the distance has made it extremely hard for his family to have access to him and to enquire about his well being, thereby completely isolating him psychologically and physically.

It is said when a person is detained under a preventive law, he cannot be lodged more than 300 km away from his place of residence, thereby flouting a law pronounced by the Supreme Court.

Official Website: The Official Campaign Site for Release of Waqar Ahmad from Indian Jail

Facebook Page: Free Waqar Campaign (Official) Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/379848838707064/ Twitter: Twitter Profile Facebook App:https://apps.facebook.com/freewaqar/