Khurram Parvez shows a victory sign as he is taken to Kot Balawal Jail, Jammu Kashmir. Photo by: Sameena Mir By Ather Zia “Peace!” – a word (of salutation) from a Lord Most Merciful! This Quranic phrase, from Surah Yasin, 36:58, was the first of many bonding discussions that I have had with Khurram Parvez, my long-time friend. The word “peace” as mentioned in this verse, and by implication, about what occupation, truth, justice, law, rights, activism and freedom meant under the chronic militarization in the Indian-controlled Kashmir valley always dominated our conversations. These words became increasingly meaningful in Khurram’s life when, in the late 90’s after finishing his Masters in Journalism, he decided to dedicate himself as a Human Rights defender. Over the years Khurram has become one of the pioneering human rights activists in the valley. On the night of September 15 Khurram was placed under illegal detention for the “potential to breach peace”—an ironic accusation to level at a peace and human rights activist. This occurred only hours after he was stopped from boarding a flight to Geneva, where he was due to submit the “civil society stakeholder’s report” to the UN Human Rights Council. Despite having all the necessary travel documents, Khurram was given no reason for the detention, other than he had been stopped on the instruction of India’s intelligence bureau. He was sent back to the valley and taken into custody soon after. Khurram was charged under the Public Safety Act (PSA), a dreaded law implemented by India to repress any form of dissent. Amnesty has called the PSA “a lawless law” and documented its rampant use in Kashmir, where it is used to criminalize and penalize political dissenters. Khurram is being held in a jail nearly 300 kilometers away from his family and legal counsel. At the time he was transferred to that facility, Khurram was still to be informed of the grounds for his detention.Khurram’s detention has been denounced by intellectuals like Noam Chomsky, Arundhati Roy, Judith Butler, Veena Das, as well as other activists and organizations like Human Rights Watch and Frontline Defenders. Amnesty International called the detention a “shameful attempt to suppress a peaceful dissenting voice from Kashmir.” A group of UN experts have also called on the Government of India to immediately release Khurram. The covert manner of Khurram's arrest was such that no warrant was issued. The magistrate who passed the detention orders did not even see him personally, or issue a show cause for bail bond, which the law requires when a jail term is ordered. Initially, Khurram was put into a ten-day remand, and without formal notification, was in the middle of the night whisked off to a remote sub-jail in remote North Kashmir. This was probably done to amplify his isolation and thwart legal efforts for his release. A soldier guards the roadside checkpoint outside Srinagar International Airport in Jammu and Kashmri, Jan 2009 PHOTO: Jrapczak – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0. This kind of treatment is not uncommon in the Kashmir valley. According to Amnesty, thousands of Kashmiri youth and activists, including lawyers and journalists, have been incarcerated unlawfully. Amnesty’s estimates of the number detained over the past two decades range from 8,000 to 20,000. Many prisoners are often re-arrested after release. The re-arrests and illegal detentions have become a matter of state policy. The issue of rampant incarceration is among a host of others human rights abuses that Khurram has been documenting and fighting against. Khurram started his formal human rights activism coordinating the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), an organization he helped co-found with Parvez Imroz, a human rights lawyer and activist. Khurram has also lent his support to international actions against human rights abuses, and he the Chairperson of Asian Federation Against involuntary Disappearances (AFAD). Khurram has singlehandedly fought to make space for dialogue, activism, research and documentation on human rights in Kashmir. He developed JKCCS into a hub of civil society and a second home to researchers, students, journalists, filmmakers, activists and budding human rights activists from all across the world. In 2004, during an election monitoring exercise in the Lolab Valley, Khurram lost his leg in a landmine blast. But he remained undaunted, and went on to successfully build JKCCS into the ethical heart of the valley, well known for its rigorously researched documentation and reports on enforced disappearances, mass graves, and custodial killings carried out by the Indian troops.