Jailed J&K activist Khurram Parvez in TIME’s 100 most influential people list

Jammu and Kashmir activist, Khurram Parvez, who is in jail, has been listed in one of the few prominent Indian names on TIME’s 100 most influential people in 2022.

The list published on Monday, also includes Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and lawyer Karuna Nundy.

Chairperson of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) in the Philippines, Parvez was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in November 2021 and was also charged with funding terrorist activities under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

His arrest had sparked outrage worldwide, with United Nations special mandate holders weighing in with extremely critical words.

Parvez, who is one of the most powerful voices in the valley was also arrested under another draconian law in 2016. He has been a vocal critic of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party as well as the prevailing regime in the Union territory for decades.

Journalist Rana Ayyub, who has written the human rights activists’ profile for the TIME, stated that Parvez’s voice ‘had to be silenced’, because of his fight against human rights violations in the J&K region resounded around the world.

“The attacks against him speak volumes of the truth he represents at a time when the world’s largest democracy is being called out for its persecution of the more than 200 million Indian Muslims,” Ayyub said.

Referring to Parvez as a “modern-day David,” she said that he gave a voice to families who had lost their children due to enforced disappearances by the Indian state.

Khurram Parvez is a former programme coordinator for the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS). He is also a recipient of the Reebok Human Rights Award, which honours activists “under the age of 30 who have fought for human rights through nonviolent means.”

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