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2 months on, Kashmiri student remains in jail for celebrating Pakistan’s World Cup victory against India

Showkat Ahmad, a college student who resides in Indian-occupied Kashmir, was arrested on October 24 for celebrating Pakitan’s victory against India in the T20 World Cup. Two months on, he remains incarcerated and no lawyer is ready to represent him.

In an interview with BBC, Ahmad’s mother cried: “My heart burns for my son. Each day passes by with a lot of difficulties. We haven’t eaten properly for the last two months.”

His sister, Fancy Bano, said during the cricket match, his friends messaged each other, which led to their arrest.

The students had praised the Pakistani team and skipper Babar Azam on WhatsApp for their stellar performance, which saw the Men In Green defeat India for the time in any World Cup.

They are also accused of chanting pro-Pakistan slogans on campus, but according to the authorities of the college — where they were watching the match — that never happened.

“We miss him soo much. We want his future to progress. He was our hope for our future,” said his sister.

Lawyer says ‘they have hurt our feelings’

The BBC reached out to a lawyer, Nitin Verma, and asked him why any lawyer was not ready to represent the student. He said: “They have hurt our feelings by their actions and that’s why we have decided that we won’t take their case.”

“You do have the constitutional right of the freedom of speech but that doesn’t mean that in your own country you can promote another country that is involved in anti-national activities,” he added.

Ruling party’s stance

A spokesperson of the ruling BJP party told the BBC that these arrests were necessary to maintain law and order.

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