Atif Bashir launches free Imran Khan committee in AJK

 

A staunch loyalist of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has constituted a committee to organise efforts across Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and in Kashmiri diaspora community circles abroad for release of PTI’s founding chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan. 

Khawaja Atif Bashir, a former regional office bearer of PTI, told reporters that since Mr Khan had “fearlessly and zealously highlighted the cause of Kashmir at every international forum, it was incumbent upon every Kashmiri to play a vigorous role for his release.” 

“I have formed the ‘Free Imran Khan Committee’ to provide a platform to PTI loyalists, particularly the younger lot, within the state as well as abroad to raise voice for early freedom of the distinguished leader of Muslim Ummah,” he said. 

Mr Bashir informed that UK based Kashmiri activist, Hassan Shiba Naqvi, had been appointed as committee’s secretary to bring the overseas Kashmiris into the folds of this body and coordinate with like-minded people for a unified struggle for Mr Khan's release

“Shortly, the remaining office bearers of the committee will be picked from amongst the PTI members in other parts of the state and overseas,” he said. 

Mr Bashir announced that from the committee’s platform, protest camps and rallies would be held in all AJK cities and towns to apprise the public of the worst ever vendetta against the PTI founding chairman on the one hand and involve them in campaigning for his release on the other. 

Mr Bashir asserted that Imran Khan was a true patriotic leader and the politics of truth and fairness was his legacy. 

“As prime minister of Pakistan, he led the international voice in raising awareness on the grave consequences of consistent Islamophobia and hate speech and promoting inter-faith harmony,” he recalled.

Mr Khan’s consistent campaign had culminated in approval by the UN General Assembly of a resolution setting March 15 as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia, he added. 

“Khan sahib is a man of principles who – unlike his opponents - does not believe in the politics of deals,” 

Mr Bashir said adding, neither will the PTI founder pretend illness nor accept offers to quit the country. 

He said Mr Khan’s achievements at home and abroad and clear-headed approach had compelled the nation to give a historic mandate to the PTI in the recently held general elections in Pakistan, notwithstanding all kinds of conspiracies against the party coupled with pre and post poll rigging.

         Ironically, the mandate given by the people was stolen by the power-hungry parties, he said. 

According to Mr Bashir, Mr Khan was popular not only in the liberated territory of Jammu and Kashmir but also in the occupied territory, where Kashmiris had displayed posters and banners imprinted with his portraits. 

Mr Bashir expressed the hope that decision-makers in Pakistan would soon bow to public pressure and release the country’s most popular leader without further loss of time. 

Tariq Naqash

Tariq Farooq seeks party meeting following 'verbal assaults' on senior PML-N leader

Expressing anguish and indignation at a recent press talk by some members of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) cabinet, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) regional secretary general Chaudhry Tariq Farooq has urged regional president Shah Ghulam Qadir to immediately convene a joint meeting of the party’s legislators and office bearers to draw up a decisive course of action in this regard. 

On Wednesday, seven AJK ministers – three from the PTI renegades and two each from coalition partners PPP and PML-N – had held a joint press conference to shrug off, rather scoff at, the widely prevailing ‘speculations’ about the likeliness of no trust against Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq. 

Though the ministers had avoided naming anyone, their comments had however left no doubt that they were trying to counter the narrative of PML-N vice president and former AJK premier Raja Farooq Haider, who has not only been publicly wigging PM Haq for his “ill-conceived policies” but has also been stressing upon PML-N’s early exit from the coalition government “to make good of the damages to its reputation among the masses.” 

However, while the PPP ministers expressed their views cautiously, the alleged “below the belt” assertions by senior minister Waqar Noor left a bad taste in the mouth of PML-N leaders and workers across the state. 

Mr Noor represents PML-N in the coalition government. Previously, from 2016 to 2021, he had served as a cabinet member in the Mr Haider led PML-N government. 

“…those making noise [about the change of government] in the state are the ones whose extortions have stopped… But nothing will happen, [because] the government cannot be changed according to someone’s personal wish… The prime minister will not succumb to blackmailing by anyone,” Mr Noor had said.  

Taking strong exception to the press talk, Mr Farooq, the PML-N regional secretary general, asserted that the government and some other elements were desperately trying to cause dissension and discord in his party.

“They are out to raise someone from within our party to fulfil their nefarious agenda. But let me declare again that their machinations are doomed to failure,” he said, in a statement on Sunday.  

Terming Mr Haider as a gifted and respectable political leader, Mr Farooq maintained that not only the PML-N workers but the majority of people across the state stood by the former premier’s standpoint on governance and exit from the coalition government. 

“There are however a few people practising the politics of expediency,” he said, but stopped short of specifically pointing out anyone. 

Referring to Mr Haider’s position on a no-trust motion against Mr Haq, Mr Farooq asserted that Mr Haider was genuinely concerned about the “escalation of negative sentiments and anti-Pakistan activities, closure of developmental activities as well as government’s hollow claims about austerity.”

“People across the liberated territory acknowledge and appreciate the political role of Raja Farooq Haider and hold him in high esteem. If the government takes any revengeful action against him or any other political figure, it will be strongly resisted. We will not leave the field open for anyone under any circumstances.” 

The PML-N secretary general pointed out that right from the formation of the coalition government, the PML-N parliamentary party was cut off from the party policy. 

He claimed that the regional PML-N leadership was under intense pressure from the workers that instead of sharing the burden of the failures of the coalition government for the sake of just four ministries, the PML-N should quit it without further ado. 

However, a final decision in this regard would be taken by party’s supreme leader Nawaz Sharif and president Shehbaz Sharif who would soon be apprised of the prevailing situation, particularly the repercussions of a further stay in the coalitions, he said.

He termed the senior minister Noor’s remarks at the press conference as painful for every PML-N worker. 

“Actually, after joining the Haq led government, the senior minister has pulled the plug on his relationship and contacts with the PML-N and its workers. Rather, he is equally involved in vindictive activities against the party workers,” he alleged.  

Mr Farooq stressed upon the regional president to immediately summon a meeting of office bearers to hold an in-depth discussion on the situation and work out a decisive future course of action.

“Any further delay in this regard is bound to multiply doubts and suspicion,” he warned.

By Tariq Naqash

K H Khurshid remembered on his 36th death anniversary

Senior and young political leaders from different schools of thought paid glowing tributes to the towering Kashmiri leader Khurshid Hassan Khurshid, commonly known as K H Khurshid, on the occasion of his 36^th death anniversary on Monday, acknowledging that his ideology was the only way forward for the long overdue liberation of Jammu and Kashmir from Indian subjugation. 

The death anniversary function was held in the Municipal Corporation Hall, yards away from the late leader’s tomb, which is a replica of the mausoleum of the founder of Pakistan Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah who Mr Khurshid had served as private secretary from 1944 to late 1947. 

In October 1947, the Quaid sent him to Srinagar reportedly with a task but there he was arrested and jailed by the Indian forces. He was finally repatriated in a prisoner exchange in 1949. 

On May 1, 1959, Mr Khurshid was appointed as AJK President in accordance with the procedure in vogue at that time. He accepted this office at the insistence of Ms Fatima Jinnah who treated him as her son and had also persuaded him to earn the bar-at-law degree from Lincoln’s Inn UK.

Two years after assuming the president's office, Mr Khurshid conducted the first ever elections under basic democracy system in AJK and also became the liberated territory's first elected president. 

In 1962, he founded a political party by the name of Jammu Kashmir Liberation League (JKLL) to ensure an all-out and focused struggle for liberation of India occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

The JKLL ideology called for recognition of the AJK government by Pakistan and other nations as a ‘revolutionary provisional successor government’ of the deposed Dogra ruler of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, so that it could take the freedom movement to its logical end with a free hand.

However, the parochial power-hungry opponents of Mr Khurshid spared no effort to run a relentless smear campaign against him by wrongly dubbing his ideology averse to the interests of Pakistan. 

An icon of integrity, honesty, intelligence and sincerity, Mr Khurshid died in a road accident on GT Road while travelling in public transport on March 11, 1988 at age 64. At the time of his death, people found only Rs 37 in his pocket.    

“Khurshid sahib was a matchless leader who used his incredible leadership skills and acumen to lead the Kashmiri nation towards the true and practicable path to their freedom. Leaders like him are born in centuries,” said AJK Legislative Assembly Speaker and senior PPP leader Chaudhry Latif Akbar in his address as chief guest at the death anniversary function. 

“The honesty, integrity, principles, ideals, courage, bravery make him a role model for every Kashmiri, regardless of his faith, caste, creed and political affiliation,” he added. 

Mr Akbar maintained that the usefulness of Mr Khurshid’s ideology was now being acknowledged even by the people who had religiously opposed it tooth and nail for years together.

“If we have to break the status quo, we will have to take bold decisions because we can no longer afford more bloodbath across the bloody divide,” he said. 

Mr Akbar reiterated his suggestion to the new government in Islamabad to host a national Kashmir conference to devise a workable strategy in the wake of India’s arbitrary steps and machinations with regard to the occupied territory.

Speaking on the occasion, JKLL president Khawaja Manzoor Qadir maintained that only the ideology presented by K H Khurshid offered the way forward for settlement of the longstanding Kashmir issue.

"Our party would continue to enlighten the policy makers on the dividends of the implementation of this ideology. The sooner they realise it the better it would be for the nation which has offered hundreds of thousands of lives and other sacrifices for their freedom,” he said. 

The death anniversary function was also attended by the late leader’s daughter Yasmeen Khurshid. However, she declined to address it because of being overpowered by emotions. She was seen trying to hold back her tears for most of the time during the function. 

It may be recalled that on January 30 this year, Mr Khurshid’s widow – Begum Surraya Khurshid – had also breathed her last at age 94 after some medical complications. 

Earlier in the morning Quran Khawani was held at the mausoleum of Mr Khurshid. Throughout the day, political activists and common people also kept on visiting the mausoleum throughout the day to pay respects to the great leader and offer Fatiha for his deliverance.  

However, what was surprising for many on Monday was the presence of an army contingent at the mausoleum of Mr Khurshid – first time in 36 years – who presented a salute soon after a local military officer laid floral wreath on the grave on behalf of his institution. 

Tariq Naqash

AJK Council members point out infractions in transfer of assets

Begum Surraya Khurshid passes away in Lahore

Begum Surayya Khurshid – sister of eminent journalist and writer late Khalid Hasan and wife of the first elected president of Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK), Khurshid Hasan Khurshid - passed away in Lahore. She was 94.

Mrs Khurshid had been under treatment in the local Combined Military Hospital after a hip bone fracture more than a month ago where breathed her last in the morning, family sources said. 

Born in what’s now India occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Mrs Khurshid who had done her Masters in History from Kinnaird College, Lahore had tied the nuptial knot with her paternal cousin Mr Khurshid in Sialkot in December 1955.

A year earlier, Mr Khurshid, who had previously served as private secretary to the founder of Pakistan Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah during the epoch-making period of Pakistan movement, had returned from the UK where he had earned his barrister at law degree from the prestigious Lincoln’s Inn at the persuasion of Miss Fatima Jinnah who treated him like her son. 

After his return, he practiced law in Karachi and the couple spent initial years of their married life as members of Ms Jinnah's household – flagstaff house - in Karachi. 

As the then President Ayub Khan had been urging Mr Khurshid to become the AJK president, he accepted this office on the advice of Ms Jinnah in May 1959. He became the first ever elected president of AJK in 1961 after holding the first ever presidential elections, but resigned from the office in August 1964 following serious differences with president Khan.   

During their days in the presidency, Mrs Khurshid became a source of strength for her spouse and as the First Lady launched and inaugurated several projects for amelioration of Kashmiri women. 

  Mrs Khurshid was a towering political and literary personality in her own right. After the demise of Mr Khurshid in a road accident in 1988, she also looked after the affairs of Jammu Kashmir Liberation League (JKLL) - the party Mr Khurshid had founded in 1962. 

She also served as a member of the AJK Legislative Assembly for a brief stint from 1990-1991 against a reserved seat as nominee of the JKLL .  

Apart from a collection of short stories (amaltas ke pairr), she had authored ‘Banihal k us paar’, a memoir on her childhood across the divide, ‘Yaadon ki kehkashan’, recollection of times spent in the company of Ms Jinnah and some other books. Mrs Khurshid had also edited the biography of Ms Jinnah by the name ‘Fatima Jinnah ke shab o roz.’

Mrs Khurshid is survived by her two children - daughter Yasmeen Khurshid and son Khurram Khurshid - and grandchildren. 

Former BBC journalist and writer Shahid Malik, sitting caretaker federal minister Fawad Hasan Fawad and PTI spokesperson Rauf Hasan are also among her close relatives.

The funeral prayers of Mrs Khurshid will be held in Khalid Masjid, Cavalry Ground, Lahore after Zohar on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, while expressing grief over her demise, a number of Kashmiri leaders paid glowing tributes to Mrs Khurshid for her contribution to the cause of the oppressed Kashmiri nation. 

In their separate messages, AJK prime minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, his predecessors Sardar Tanveer Ilyas and Chaudhry Abdul Majeed, PML-N regional president Shah Ghulam Qadir, general secretary Chaudhry Tariq Farooq, Legislative Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar and others said the services of Mrs Khurshid as spouse of a legendary leader, the first lady and legislative assembly members will always be remembered by Kashmiri people. 

Tariq Naqash

Registration of PPP, PML-N and PTI in Azad Kashmir nullified by High Court

The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) High Court on Thursday nullified the registration of the regional chapters of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) by the region’s Election Commission for being in contravention of the law and Constitution of the state. 

Subsequently, the ‘show cause’ notices served by these parties on their recently elected councillors for alleged violation of party discipline during elections to the reserved seats and heads of the Local Government (LG) institutions, were also set-aside by the larger bench, comprising Chief Justice Sadaqat Hussain Raja, Justice Mian Arif Hussain, Justice Sardar Muhammad Ejaz and Justice Khalid Rasheed Chaudhry.

The 20-page judgment, authored by the chief justice, was announced in the open court on four clubbed petitions filed between January and March 2023 by some councillors from Muzaffarabad and Rawalakot.

The bench heard arguments and counter arguments from the parties and their counsel after forming three points at issue which included whether the political parties which had served the impugned show cause notices on the petitioners were duly registered political parties according to the law and whether those were entitled for such an action; what was the status of a member elected on the ticket of a political party which had been registered against the law on the subject; and whether the [AJK] Election Commission had proceeded against the law by issuing the impugned notices to the petitioners?

The bench served notices on the presidents and secretaries general of eight parties - PML-N, PPP, PTI,  Muslim Conference, Jammu Kashmir People’s Party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam AJK and Jamaat-Islami AJK - to submit their statements of objections apart from obtaining record of these parties from the Election Commission.

The bench pointed out that the prevailing AJK Election Act 2020 had laid down the procedure for registration of a political party and according to Article 4 (4) (7) of the AJK Constitution every State Subject had been granted the right to form or become a member of a party in accordance with the prevalent law. 

It further noted that section 128 of the AJK Election Act clearly stipulated the process for formation and registration of a political party under an application to the Election Commission, accompanied by a copy of its constitution and published manifesto, consolidated statement of accounts, a list of at least 1000 members with their signatures or thumb impression and CNIC copies as well the proof of deposit of registration fee.  

The bench perused the record of PML-N, PTI and PPP and noted that even though they had failed to fulfil the laid down criteria, including the mandatory intra-party elections among other conditions, they were granted “provisional” registration in the first place and regular registration afterwards.  

“There is no bar on establishment of the branches of the Pakistani parties in Azad Kashmir but only a State Subject is eligible to apply for its registration. No Pakistani political party can treat its branch as a ‘brand’ or ‘franchise’ because this runs counter to the basic democratic norms,” the bench held.  

It also took strong exception to the Election Commission for disregarding the basic requirements of registration of political parties as well as its responsibility to review from time to time whether a political party was registered in accordance with law or not.

“We wonder as to how the Election Commission registered these parties provisionally and allowed them to contest elections, notwithstanding several legal and constitutional shortcomings. Since the registration itself has been against the law and Constitution, show cause notices served by these parties and any other proceedings in pursuance of the same are also against the law and are therefore declared null and void.”

The bench maintained that since the court was not approached by any person affected by other parties, it did not deem appropriate to pass comments about them. 

“However, this should be kept in mind that even if any political party is not a party in these petitions, it can have a legal backing only by adhering to the principles laid down in the judgement and prevailing laws and rules. The Election Commission should initiate proceedings vis-à-vis their registration in the light of the instant judgment,” it declared.

In the closing paragraph, the bench made it clear that the instant judgment would not serve as a legal bar or impediment to the registration of any political party under law and Constitution.

Tariq Naqash

Off the Greek coast: Rat race drives people from Azad Kashmir to take the dangerous plunge

 In a rural area called Khuiratta, not far from Pakistan’s heavily militarised de facto border with India, people are reckoning with a tragedy and searching for answers. 

Khuiratta, named after a spring over which Muslims and Hindus fought during the time of the British Raj and currently part of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, is home to several villages perched on rolling green mountains peppered with waterfalls and springs, white-domed mosques and red, blue and purple flowers that dot the landscape every spring. 

Marble-tiled houses with large courtyards and imported cars are a common sight here. The fortunate owners of these homes and vehicles have purchased these luxuries from the money they made working in England, Italy and other European and Gulf countries. 

Real-estate prices in this agrarian region are comparable to those of Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, located some 150km away, indicating how property values have risen as a result of the investments made by expats. 

However, Khuiratta is in mourning. Dozens of its residents were onboard an overcrowded fishing trawler that sank off the coast of Greece, causing hundreds of migrants and refugees to drown on June 14. 

The boat capsized near the Greek coastal town of Pylos while on its way to Italy from Libya. It was believed to be carrying more than 700 passengers from Pakistan, Syria and Egypt. Only 104 survived. 

Pakistani authorities have so far confirmed the deaths of 81 citizens. But they fear there were more than 300 Pakistani nationals on the ill-fated vessel. Among the victims who have been identified, 28 were from Khuiratta. 

A history of migration

Located in the district of Kotli, Khuiratta is part of Pakistan-administered Kashmir’s southern Mirpur division, which has come to be known as 'Little England'. 

Since the 1960s, hundreds of thousands of people from the Mirpur division have migrated to the UK. The first generation consisted mostly of those who were displaced from their villages after the construction of Mangla dam. 

While official statistics are unavailable, estimates suggest that there are close to 1 million expatriates living in the UK who maintain properties and close ties with family members in Pakistan. 

“When the expats visit home, they zoom around in big jeeps, go on wild shopping sprees and spend lavishly. When their neighbours watch this sort of lifestyle, they also crave for foreign shores,” says Imran Maqsood, a lawyer from Khuiratta. 

“It’s a rat race. If 10 men from one village have gone and settled in Europe, then the 11th one wants to follow them." 

However, lack of education and absence of sufficient skills means that aspiring migrants have little chance of landing a job in Europe via legal channels — and with human traffickers charging up to Rs2.7 million (around $9,450) to smuggle one person to Italy, it costs the average migrant eight years’ worth of minimum annual wage in Pakistan to make the perilous journey. 

TRT WORLD

Even in villages, people have built multistorey houses from the money they had earned working in the UK, Europe and the Gulf countries.

“A notional perception of prosperity and better quality of life in Europe has pushed young people to take a plunge into the misadventure of this illegal odyssey,” says Naila Altaf Kayani, a political analyst based in Muzaffarabad, Pakistani Kashmir’s capital. 

“Unfortunately, while our ruling elite undertake foreign trips religiously, they have never taken serious steps to develop a human resource that is genuinely required and welcomed in Europe.” 

A story of many reasons

On almost every street corner in Kotli, there’s a story to be heard of a son or cousin or friend who has either perished or successfully crossed the Mediterranean Sea, which has become a mass graveyard for thousands of migrants and refugees. 

At a state-run hospital in Khuiratta, relatives are trickling in for DNA profiling as part of a process to identify the victims of the latest tragedy. Among them was Muhammad Sadiq, 75, whose 30-year-old son Sajid is among the missing and presumed dead. 

Sajid flew to Libya almost a year ago, but before he could take the hazardous boat journey to Italy, he was arrested for attempting to travel illegally and was subsequently jailed for several months. Then, in early June, he sent a WhatsApp message to his father saying he would finally board a boat heading to Italian shores. 

“Then there was no news from him and we saw his name on the list of those who have drowned,” says his father. 

Sajid, who had paid an agent more than Rs2 million (almost $7,000) to cross into Europe, was not driven to take drastic measures due to poverty — at least not by Pakistani standards. He owned a small mobile phone shop and drove a Toyota sedan. Yet he aspired for more. 

Conflicts, persecution and economic upheaval in countries like Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, Myanmar, Ukraine and Venezuela have displaced tens of millions of people from their homes, forcing many of them to undertake dangerous journeys across borders, according to the UN and other human rights organisations. 

While many in Pakistan grapple with extreme poverty, even Pakistanis with a viable income like Sajid are facing a cost of living crisis, with inflation running at a record high and a government struggling to fix foreign exchange rates to repay its debt. 

On the Pakistani side of Kashmir, which has a population of 4.5 million, the biggest source of employment is the public sector. But government jobs often only go to those with strong political connections, leaving others struggling to find a decent income. 

And while Khuiratta might have pockets of land where real estate value is on par with Islamabad and where a few villagers have plenty of cash to spend, stories of financial loss and desperation are not uncommon. 

Hameed Iqbal, 46, is another victim of the June 14 boat tragedy in Greece. Iqbal was a resident of Seri Chattar village and a father of five. 

Iqbal used to have a job in Saudi Arabia that helped him earn enough to support his family. But in 2020, during the pandemic, he visited his ailing mother. Soon after, a travel ban was imposed and he lost his job. 

He opened a small restaurant, but after losses piled up, he shut it down. An ‘agent’ — as traffickers are locally referred to — offered Iqbal a way out: an illegal boat crossing into Italy at a cost of Rs2.3 million ($8,100).

Before it became difficult to cross over into Europe due to increasingly stringent border control, illegal migrants from Pakistan and Afghanistan would take the treacherous land route via Iran and Türkiye. 

TRT WORLD

Saeed Hameed thought it would be a quick journey for his father who was trying to reach Italy illegally. He's now waiting for DNA results to identify his body.

With crossings becoming more challenging in recent years, traffickers had to change tactics: They now fly migrants to Libya and then shove them onto rickety boats destined for Italy. 

“Going to Europe on a ‘Danki’ (a small boat) seemed easy. The agents assured papa that he will be in Libya in a month’s time,” says Iqbal’s 21-year-old son, Saeed Hameed. 

Iqbal said his goodbyes and left for Libya on April 28 to never return. 

Stuck in Libya 

Pakistan police have arrested more than a dozen suspects accused of running the trafficking network responsible for this latest incident. This includes one of the network’s ringleaders, Sajid Mahmood Warraich, who was apprehended at the Karachi airport on June 17, says Dr Khalid Mahmood Chauhan, a senior police officer from Mirpur. 

“We need to work on our laws. They are not good enough to stop the traffickers,” he tells TRT World. 

Over the years, human smugglers have built a sophisticated network stretching from rural villages in Pakistan to handlers active along the Libyan coast. They have devised informal ways to receive payments and to share cuts of the profits along the route. There are even people on their payroll who actively sell the idea of a ‘good Italian life’ to young men. 

“They look for men who can be easily moulded. Once the victim is convinced, they tell him there’s no longer space on the group and he’d have to find more people who join him if he wants to make it to Italy,” says Adeeb Zafar, a local councillor. 

This Ponzi scheme-like way of cultivating a group of ‘migrants’ has destroyed many families. 

“I know a boy who sold his land to meet their demand, and is now languishing in a Libyan jail,” says Zafar. 

Local officials fear a bigger humanitarian disaster is impending in the prisons of Libya, where migrants are at the mercy of human traffickers who withhold their passports and other travel documents, making it nearly impossible for them to get out without paying a ransom. 

Just a week before the migrant boat tragedy, Muhammad Habib, a 27-year-old man from Taniyot village in Khuiratta, died under mysterious circumstances in a Libyan prison in the port city of Tobruk.

TRT WORLD

Hundreds of illegal migrants languishing in Libyan jails and residents fear they can end up dead like Habib.

He was among hundreds of Pakistanis from Khuiratta who have been languishing in Libyan prisons for making attempts to cross the Mediterranean and enter Italy.

Once in Libya, the migrants are often asked to cough up thousands of dollars in extra payments if they want to get out of the prisons and continue their onward journeys to Italy. 

“I have spoken to some 20 people stuck in Libyan prisons. I have also gotten in touch with the families of many more. They are locked up in pathetic places where they don't get proper food, water or medical treatment,” says Rafique Nayyar, a local politician and member of Kashmir’s Legislative Assembly. 

Back home in the villages of Khuiratta, families are far from finding closure. 

“He was an intelligent and hardworking boy. I told him not to risk his life. This desire to go to Italy has ruined so many of our people,” Sajid’s father Sadiq tells TRT World, fighting back tears. 

TARIQ NAQASH

THIS STORY FIRST APPEARED AT TRT WORLD