Asia Cup: Ahead of Indo-Pak T20 match, JKSA issues advisory for Kashmiri students
Ahead of the upcoming India-Pakistan clash in Asia Cup on August 28, the Jammu and Kashmir Student Association (JKSA) has urged the students hailing from the state and studying at different universities all over the nation to take the game in its spirit and stay away from posts on social media which might lead them into trouble. With memories of the arrest of three Kashmiri students in Agra for posting pro-Pakistan social media posts after it won a match in the T20 World Cup last year, still fresh, JKSA national spokesperson Nasir Khuehami issued the advisory on Saturday asking the students to take it as just another game and stay away from trouble.
Arch-rivals India and Pakistan are all set for a T20 cricket match on Sunday, as part of the Asia Cup fixture at Dubai International Stadium and it is expected to be a high-voltage match. Last year in October, Babar Azam-led Pakistan defeated India by 10 wickets, following which a few students from Kashmir were arrested for uploading pro-Pakistan posts on social media.
“We have urged Kashmiri students studying at different universities all over the nation to have their priority set for their education and career for which they have travelled to different parts of the nation from their home state of Jammu and Kashmir,” stated Khuehami while talking to HT on phone on Saturday.
“These students need to take sports as a game and stay away from social media posts during and after the match, which might create any kind of indiscipline at any institution across the country or land them in trouble. They should not get involved in unnecessary debates, discussions or social media chat and should enjoy the game with true sportsman spirit,” Khuehami appealed.
“Out of three Kashmiri students studying at Agra, who were booked for making objectionable social media posts, only one is continuing his studies for engineering and two have returned home leaving studies in between after being released on bail from Agra District Jail on May 26, 2022,” Khuehami said.
It may be recalled that three Kashmiri students, who were enrolled in RBS Engineering College, Agra, under the PM Special Scholarship Scheme for students of J&K, were arrested on October 28 last year for allegedly posting a WhatsApp post praising Pakistan players after their victory against India in a T20 cricket World Cup match.
The students were arrested after a case was registered against them at Jagdishpura police station, initially under sections 153A (promoting enmity and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 505(1)(b) (inducing to commit an offence against the state or the public tranquillity) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), besides Section 66F (cyber terrorism) of the Information Technology (Amended) Act, 2008, police sources said. During the investigation, section 124-A (sedition) was added against them.
After Agra lawyers had refused to fight their case, Madhuban Dutt Chaturvedi, a lawyer from Mathura, represented them in court. These students were granted bail on March 30, 2022, by the Allahabad high court but the time taken for arranging sureties for them caused the delay in their release from jail.
