Kashmir's Public Safety Act Denies Basic Human Rights

Sixty-year-old Kashmiri man Mohd Ayoub Pala keenly examines a court order directing the government to allow his son, who is suffering from cancer, to be medically examined.

With a deep sigh, he said there is no justice even for a cancer patient, noting his son should be home now and needs care and treatment regularly.

Mohd Ayoub, a day labor, had done his work on Oct. 14 to earn around 600 Indian rupees ($8.5) so he could come to court the next day to learn about the case of his son, who has been detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA) since Aug. 6.

Parvaiz Ahmad Pala, 33, was diagnosed with papillary thyroid carcinoma in 2014, and has remained on treatment since then and has also had surgery, as reflected by medical records accessed by Anadolu Agency.

But his detention has put the brakes on the availability of such basic rights, said Mohd Ayoub.

“I don’t know how he is now. I fear that his condition might have worsened as his thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) had reached a level of 4.6,” he said, indicating he had a mild form of hypothyroidism.

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