Prominent Kashmiri activist Khurram Parvez was detained by police on Friday, a day after he was allegedly stopped from boarding a flight to Geneva at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International
(IGI) Airport.
Parvez, who is a coordinator of the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil society (JKCCS), was scheduled to travel to Switzerland when he was stopped from boarding his flight at IGI airport and was reportedly detained by the immigration authorities. He was barred from travelling even though he had a valid visa.
The Police visited Parvez's house in Srinagar at 8 p.m. and asked him to come along with them to the local police station for questioning. Parvez reportedly refused saying that he would go to the station at 10 a.m. in the morning, Hindustan Times reported.
At 12:30 p.m. on Friday, another team of police reached Parvez's house asking him to come to the police station to meet the superintendent of police. The activist drove to the police station and was reportedly arrested at the Kothibag station by the station house officer.
Talking to HT, Pervez's family said, "There was no formal arrest or warning given." The police could not be reached for a statement.
Parvez was to attend a United Nations Human Rights Council session in Geneva, Switzerland from Sept. 14 to 24. The Kashmiri activist was expected to brief the U.N. officials about the ongoings in Kashmir.
The activist was told by the authorities at the airport that "due to orders from the Intelligence Bureau, he cannot travel to Geneva".
"It appears that Khurram Parvez is not being allowed to travel because he has been highlighting violations of human rights. The Indian State seeks to isolate the people of... Kashmir at all costs, and disallowing human rights activists access to the UN is a part of this attempt to isolate and ensure impunity for violence and denial of human rights," Parvez Imroz, president of JKCCS said.
Kashmir has been severely hit by violence and protests since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen leader Burhan Wani by security forces. Life in Kashmir is at a standstill and the region continues to remain under curfew. The death toll in the region due to the violence has reached 79 and several have been severely injured in the frequent protests.
The UN Human Rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein on Thursday said that there are reports of use of "excessive force" by the Indian security forces on the civilians, and that an international probe was "needed crucially" in Kashmir, although India responded saying the violence was "choreographed from across the border".
