home-ministry-s-tribunal-upholds-ban-on-pro-separatist-j-k-freedom-party

A tribunal appointed by the Union Home Ministry has affirmed the ban placed on the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (JKDFP), which is led by jailed separatist Shabir Ahmad Shah.

 

On October 5, 2023, the Union Home Ministry designated the JKDFP a banned association under the Unlawful Actions (Prevention) Act of 1967 for five years due to its "anti-India" and "pro-Pakistan" actions.

 

Later on, the tribunal headed by the Delhi High Court judge Justice Sachin Datta was constituted to assess if there were sufficient grounds to declare the JKDFP an unlawful association.

 

According to a recent announcement, the tribunal, acting under the authority provided by subsection (3) of section 4 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, issued a ruling on April 3, 2024, confirming the declaration of the JKDFP as an unlawful organisation.

 

Upholding the Ministry’s decision in its ruling, the tribunal stated that the extensive information and evidence presented before it provided sufficient cause to designate the JKDFP as an unlawful association under the UAPA.

 

"The modicum of stability that has come about after 2019 (as is evident from the reduced number of unconducive incidents) could not have been allowed to be jeopardised on account of continuing activities of the concerned association," the report said.

 

The JKDFP was founded in 1998 by Shabir Ahmad Shah, a well-known separatist politician in Jammu and Kashmir, and was a member of the separatist Hurriyat Conference.

 

Meanwhile, following the breakup of the Hurriyat Conference in 2003, the JKDFP joined the hard-line group led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani.

 

 Shabir Ahmad Shah is now held in Delhi's Tihar Jail for multiple offences. On July 25, 2017, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) detained him in connection with a money laundering case from 2005.

 

While declaring the JKDFP a banned organisation, the home ministry stated that Shah referred to Kashmir as a "dispute" and ruled out any settlement within the framework of the Indian Constitution.

 

Furthermore, members of his party have been at the forefront of ‘secessionist activities to establish a separate Islamic state’ read the statement issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs on October 5.