ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday denounced a five-year ban on the Awami Action Committee and Jammu and Kashmir Ittihad-ul-Muslimeen organizations in Indian-administered Kashmir, calling it an attempt to “suppress political activities and stifle dissent.”

In a notification on Tuesday, the Indian Union Ministry of Home Affairs said both organizations were “unlawful” associations engaged in activities that were prejudicial to the integrity, sovereignty and security of the country.

The Awami Action Committee is led by political and religious leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the chairman of the moderate faction of Kashmir’s main separatist political alliance. The Jammu and Kashmir Ittihad-ul-Muslimeen is led by Shia leader Masroor Abbas Ansari, who is also a senior leader of Farooq’s All Parties Hurriyat Conference.

Farooq’s family and aides are part of more than three decades of separatist activity by some Muslim politicians who have long resented what they see as heavy-handed New Delhi rule. Some want to join Pakistan, while others have called for complete independence for Kashmir.

“The recent decision increases the total number of outlawed Kashmiri political parties and organizations to 16,” the foreign office said, calling it a manifestation of India’s “iron-fisted” approach toward Kashmir. 

“It reflects a desire to suppress the political activities and stifle dissent. It also shows sheer disregard of democratic norms and international human rights law.”

The FO urged the government of India to remove the curbs on Kashmiri political parties, release all political prisoners and implement UN Security Council resolutions.

The Himalayan region of Jammu and Kashmir has long been a flashpoint between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan, with both claiming Kashmir in full but ruling it in part. UN peacekeepers have been deployed since 1949 to observe a ceasefire between India and Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir.

The UN Security Council adopted several resolutions in 1948 and in the 1950s on the dispute between India and Pakistan over the region, including one which says a plebiscite should be held to determine the future of the mostly Muslim Kashmir.

Another resolution also calls upon both sides to “refrain from making any statements and from doing or causing to be done or permitting any acts which might aggravate the situation.”