Srinagar, July 18: Senior advocate and former general secretary of Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association Mohammad Ashraf Bhat was arrested from his residence here and booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA), officials said on Thursday.
A senior police official at PCR Kashmir said that Bhat has been arrested from his Rawalpora area of the city late on Wednesday night and booked under the PSA. He was shifted to Kathua jail in Jammu region.
He has been arrested on charges of strengthening separatist movement in Kashmir, promoting the narrative of Pakistan and terrorists’ sponsors and building an anti-India narrative.
“More arrests are expected in the case,” the official said.
JKHCBA’s General Secretary has become the fourth lawyer of the erstwhile Bar to be arrested in 23 days. Earlier, ex-Bar chief MianQayoom, acting Bar chairman Nazir Ahmad Ronga, and Advocate MianMuzaffar were arrested by the police and shifted to jails in the Jammu province.
Former JKHCBA President Qayoom was arrested in connection with the 2020 killing of lawyer Babar Qadri in Srinagar. These arrests followed the Bar’s announcement of its intention to hold internal elections.
On June 25, the JKHCBA elections were put on hold by the District Magistrate (DM) of Srinagar, citing security concerns and potential unrest. The order comes amidst allegations by another advocate body and questions regarding the JKHCBA’s registration status.
“There are various concerns with respect to legality and authenticity of the Jammu & Kashmir High Court Bar Association Srinagar citing various reason as propagating secessionist ideology and being an unregistered association/body demanding a ban on conducting the elections of J&K High Court Bar Association Srinagar,” it said.
