Kashmir University PhD scholar arrested for 'seditious' magazine article

"Fazili's article, titled 'The shackles of slavery will break', is highly provocative, seditious and intended to create unrest in Jammu and Kashmir and written with the purpose of abetting the youth to take the path of violence by glorifying terrorism. According to The Kashmir Walla website, the article was published on November 6, 2011.

Srinagar: A Kashmir University PhD scholar in Srinagar was arrested by Jammu and Kashmir's State Investigation Agency (SIA) on Sunday for an allegedly "highly provocative and seditious" article published in an online magazine.

"The PhD scholar, Abdul Aala Fazili was arrested from his residence in Humhama on the outskirts of Srinagar as part of the searches carried out at several locations in the city during a crackdown on terror and anti-national networks," an official said. The SIA carried out the searches in connection with an FIR registered under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the IPC against Fazili and the editor and other associates of the monthly digital magazine The Kashmir Walla, the official added.

Searches were also conducted at the office of The Kashmir Walla in Rajbagh and at the residences of Fazili in Humhama and at the residence of the jailed editor of the magazine, Fahad Shah and "incriminating evidence, including material in computers, laptops and other digital equipment" seized. "Fazili's article, titled 'The shackles of slavery will break', is highly provocative, seditious and intended to create unrest in Jammu and Kashmir and written with the purpose of abetting the youth to take the path of violence by glorifying terrorism. The article also promoted and propagated the false narrative, which is essential to sustain secessionist-cum-terrorist campaign aimed at breaking the territorial integrity of India," the official said. According to The Kashmir Walla website, the article was published on November 6, 2011.

He has used prescriptive language with instructional intent, encouraging secessionist elements to carry out terror activities, the official added. "Repeated reference to freedom and terror outfits' rhetoric make it amply clear that the article is not merely propaganda. Rather, it is articulation of Pakistan ISI and the vision of its sponsored terrorist secessionist networks," the official said adding that the Central government paid Fazili Rs 30,000 per month for five years till March 2021 through the Maulana Azad National Fellowship so that he can sustain himself and complete his Ph.D. in the department of Pharmaceutical Sciences of the university.