Khurram Parvez: An anti-terrorist law has been used to arrest a Kashmiri human rights activist

Khurram Parvez is charged with "terrorist funding" and "conspiracy."

After raids on his home and business in Indian-administered Kashmir, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested him. Mr. Parvez has yet to make a statement.

However, his imprisonment has sparked international outcry and calls for his release, "silence and punish human rights defenders".

Mr Parvez has long been a prominent critic of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led administration, according to activists and others on social media. His Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), a Kashmir-based organisation, has produced multiple damning findings on security forces' human rights violations and excesses in the Valley.

He also serves as the chair of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (Afad), an international rights organisation that investigates forced disappearances in Kashmir and throughout Asia.

Mr Parvez was seized by Indian authorities in 2016, a day after he was prohibited from travelling to Switzerland to attend the UN Human Rights Council's 33rd session, and charged under the contentious Public Safety Act (PSA), which enables incarceration without trial for up to two years.

Investigators from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) raided his residence and the JKCCS office in Srinagar, Kashmir's capital, on Monday. He was first detained for interrogation before being arrested later that evening.

The police have charged him with "criminal conspiracy," "attempt to wage war against the government," and "raising funds for terrorist acts and a terrorist organisation" under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, expressed her dissatisfaction at Mr Parvez's imprisonment. She remarked on Twitter, "He is not a terrorist, he is a human rights defender."

The arrest also comes at a time when tensions in the Kashmir valley are at an all-time high following the recent deaths of two civilians.

The guys were allegedly killed in crossfire in Srinagar as security personnel attacked suspected militants, according to police. Families of the citizens, on the other hand, have questioned the police account of events, claiming that they were killed purposefully by Indian troops while being utilised as a human shield.

Days of protests followed the killings in the region, which has been wracked by insurgency against Indian control since 1989.

Both India and Pakistan claim the entire land, but only control a portion of it. It has sparked two wars between nuclear-armed neighbours.

Following mounting pressure from international rights groups, he was released after 76 days in prison.

For years, India has accused Pakistan of sending tens of thousands of militants across the border to cause unrest in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The charge is denied by Islamabad.