J&K PhD scholar arrested for seditious, provocative magazine article

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir's State Investigation Agency (SIA) has arrested a PhD scholar on Sunday for an alleged "highly provocative and seditious" article he published in an online magazine, IANS reported.

Sources told IANS, "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.

The SIA conducted the searches after an FIR registered under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the IPC against the arrestee along with the editor and other associates of the magazine "The Kashmir Walla". Searched locations include Fazili's residence in Humhama residence of the jailed editor of the magazine, Farhad Shah. SIA recovered "incriminating evidence" such as material in computers, laptops and other digital equipment.

Sources said that Fazili's article titled 'The shackles of slavery will break' was potential enough to provoke unrest in J&K as well as seditious, which featured a false narrative. The article is purposefully written to abate youth into terrorism, further disturbing the territorial integrity of India, the source claimed.

Fazili "has used prescriptive language with instructional intent, encouraging secessionist elements to carry out terror activities. Repeated references to freedom and terror outfits' rhetoric make it amply clear that the article is not merely propaganda. Rather, it is the articulation of Pakistan ISI and the vision of its sponsored terrorist secessionist networks," the source said.