‘No locus standi’: India rejects Pakistan’s comments on Asiya Andrabi life sentence

India's Ministry of External Affairs strongly rejected Pakistan's statements regarding the life sentence handed to separatist leader Asiya Andrabi. The MEA stated that terror-sponsor Pakistan has no right to comment on India's internal judicial matters

New Delhi: India on Wednesday slammed Pakistan over comments made in support of a terrorist organisation and its members, stressing that Islamabad has no locus standi to speak on matters related to India and its judicial processes.

New Delhi’s strong reaction came after Pakistan Foreign Office issued a statement on the awarding of a life imprisonment sentence to Kashmiri separatist leader Asiya Andrabi.

---

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that Pakistan’s statement condoning violence has not surprised India as Islamabad has been sponsoring terrorism for a long time. He urged Pakistan to introspect its systematic human rights violations.

“We categorically reject the statement issued by Pakistan in support of a banned terrorist organization and its members. Pakistan has no locus standi to comment on matters internal to India or its judicial processes. However, one is not surprised that a country, which has long been sponsoring terrorism, has come up with such a statement condoning violence and killing of innocent people. Instead of peddling lies and frivolous narratives, Pakistan should introspect on the grave and systematic human rights violations it continues to perpetrate,” read a statement issued by the MEA spokesperson.

A Delhi court on Tuesday sentenced Andrabi to life imprisonment for offences including conspiracy to commit terrorist acts and waging war against the Government of India, while awarding 30-year jail terms to her associates Sofi Fehmeeda and Nahida Nasreen.

Pronouncing the order on the quantum of sentence, Additional Sessions Judge Chander Jit Singh of the Karkardooma Courts held that the acts of the convicts struck at the “very existence of India” and were aimed at the secession of Jammu and Kashmir, an integral part of the country.

The court stated that the material on record demonstrated they had “not abhorred violence” and had, in fact, indirectly promoted it by glorifying slain militants and propagating secessionist ideology.

“The acts of the convict brought on record may not apparently be the direct cause of inciting violence, but infusing the minds of people, particularly the youth, with the idea that Kashmir is not part of India and India has occupied the Kashmir illegally and in a hostile manner can evoke sentiments which may lead them to adopt all kinds of methods, including violence,” the court observed.

The case arose out of a 2018 investigation by the National Investigation Agency, which alleged that the banned outfit Dukhtaran-e-Millat (DeM), headed by Andrabi, was using social media, public speeches and other platforms to advocate for Jammu and Kashmir’s merger with Pakistan.

The prosecution placed on record various videos, online posts and other material purportedly showing the accused eulogising militants, inciting unlawful activities such as stone-pelting, and promoting narratives rooted in the two-nation theory.

Andrabi was found guilty under various provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), including Sections 18 (conspiracy for terrorist acts) and 20 (membership of a terrorist organisation), along with IPC offences such as criminal conspiracy and waging war against the state.

Fehmeeda and Nasreen were also convicted under multiple provisions of the anti-terror law and the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Rejecting any leniency in sentencing, the court, in view of the gravity of the offences, observed that activities aimed at destabilising the nation and promoting secessionist ideology warranted stringent punishment.

Andrabi, who founded the all-women separatist outfit in 1987, was arrested in April 2018. The organisation had largely become defunct following her arrest, the court noted.