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Human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir

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Human rights abuses in the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir state are an ongoing issue. The abuses range from mass killings, forced disappearances, torture, rape and sexual abuse to political repression and suppression of freedom of speech. TheIndian Army, central reserve police force, border security personnel and various separatist militant groups[1][2] have been accused and held accountable for committing severe human rights abuses against Kashmiri civilians.[3][4][5] Pakistan Army has been also blamed for abusing human rights in Jammu and Kashmir by violating ceasefire and keep on killing Kashmiri civilians.[6][7][8][9][10]Diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks revealed that the ICRC had briefed US officials in Delhi in 2005 about the use of torture from 2002-2004 by security forces against hundreds of detainees suspected of being connected to or having information about militants.[11][12]

Militant violence led by Jammu Kashmir Liberation front has caused ethnic cleansing of several hundred thousand Kashmiri Hindu Pandits, who comprises an estimated 3% of the Kashmir valley's population.[13] According to Asia Watch, the militant organisations forced the Hindus residing in the Kashmir valley to flee and become refugees in Delhi and Jammu. There is controversy regarding whether pandits left due to fear of violence or were encouraged by the government to leave in order to undermine the support for militant movements.[14] It is claimed that Kashmiri militants have been assisted and supported by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The chief perpetrators were the Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front and the Hizbul Mujahideen. Ethnic cleansing continued till a vast majority of the Kashmiri Pandits were evicted out of the valley after having suffered many acts of violence, including sexual assault on women, arson, torture and extortion of property.[3][13] Some of the separatist leaders in Kashmir reject these allegations. The Indian government is attempting to reinstate the displaced Pandits in Kashmir. The remnants of Kashmiri Pandits have been living in squalor in Jammu, but most of them believe that, until the violence ceases, returning to Kashmir is not an option.[15]

In a 1993 report, Human Rights Watch stated that Indian security forces "assaulted civilians during search operations, tortured and summarily executed detainees in custody and murdered civilians in reprisal attacks"; according to the report, militants had also targeted civilians, but to a lesser extent than security forces. Rape was regularly used as a means to "punish and humiliate" communities.[16] A 2010 US state department report stated that the Indian army in Jammu and Kashmir had carried out extrajudicial killings of civilians and suspected insurgents. The report also described killings and abuse being carried out by insurgents andseparatists.[17] In 2010, statistics presented to the Indian government's Cabinet Committee on Security showed that for the first time since the 1980s, the number of civilian deaths attributed to the Indian forces was higher than those attributed to terrorist actions.[18]The Indian Army claims that 97% of the reports about the human rights abuse have been found to be "fake or motivated" based on the investigation performed by the Army.[19]
Indian Armed Forces
Thousands of Kashmiris have reported to be killed by Indian security forces in custody, extradjudicial executions and enforced disappearances and these human right violations are said to be carried out by Indian security forces under total impunity.[20][21]Civilians including women and children have been killed in "reprisal" attacks by Indian security forces. International NGO's as well as the US State Department have documented human rights abuses including disappearances, torture and arbitrary executions carried out during India's counter terrorism operations [13] United Nations has expressed serious concerns over large number of killings by Indian security forces.[22] Human Rights groups have also accused the Indian security forces of using child soldiers,[23][note 1] although the Indian government denies this allegation.[5] Torture, widely used by Indian security, the severity described as beyond comprehension by amnesty international has been responsible for the huge number of deaths in custody[24] The Telegraph, citing a WikiLeaks report quotes the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) that Indian security forces were physically abusing detainees by beatings, electrocutions and sexual interference. These detainees weren't Islamic insurgents or Pakistani-backed insurgents but civilians, in contrast to India's continual allegations of Pakistani involvement. The detainees were "connected to or believed to have information about the insurgents". According to ICRC, 681 of the 1296 detainees whom it interviewed claimed torture. US officials have been quoted reporting "terrorism investigations and court cases tend to rely upon confessions, many of which are obtained under duress if not beatings, threats, or in some cases torture."[25] Amnesty International accused security forces of exploiting theArmed Forces Special Powers Act that enables them to "hold prisoners without trial". The group argues that the law, which allows security to detain individuals for as many as two years "without presenting charges, violating prisoners’ human rights".[26]

Indian Army
The soldiers of the 4th Rajputana Rifles of the Indian Army on 23 February 1991 launched a search operation in a village Kunan Poshpora, in the Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir and allegedly gang raped 53 women of all ages.[27] Later on an interview of victims and eyewitnesses was documented into a short film Ocean of Tears which was prevented from its broadcast.[28][29] Nevertheless, the Indian committee that led a thorough investigation concluded that the allegations were "grossly exaggerated" and the incident was "a massive hoax orchestrated by militant groups and their sympathizers and mentors in Kashmir and abroad as a part of sustained and cleverly contrived strategy of psychological warfare and as an entry point for reinscribing Kashmir on the International Agenda as a Human rights issue."[30] However, Human Rights organizations includingHuman Rights Watch have reported that the number of raped women could be as high as 80 .[31][32][33] The Indian Army is also accused of many massacres such as Bomai Killing, 2009, Gawakadal massacre, 2006 Kulgam massacre, Zakoora And Tengpora Massacre, 1990, Sopore massacre. They also didn‘t spared the health care system of the valley. The major hospitals witnessed the crackdowns and army men even entered the operation theatres in search of terrorist patients.[34]

Border Security Force
On 22 October 1993, the 13th Battalion of the Border Security Forces was accused of arbitrarily firing on a crowd and killing 37 civilians in Bijbehara[35][36] The number of reported dead and wounded vary by source. Amnesty International reported that at least 51 people died and 200 were wounded on that day.[37]

The Indian government conducted two official enquiries and the National Human Rights Commission of India (NHRC) conducted a third. In March 1994 the government indicted the Border Security Force (BSF) for firing into the crowd "without provocation" and charged 13 BSF officers with murder.[35] In another incident which took place at Handwara on 25 January 1990, 9 protesters were killed by the same unit.[38]

Central Reserve Police Force
During the Amarnath land transfer controversy more than 40 unarmed protesters were killed by the personnels of Central Reserve Police Force.[39][40] At least 300 were detained under Public Safety Act, including teenagers.[41] The same practice was again repeated by the personnels of the Central Reserve Police Force, during the 2010 Kashmir Unrest, which resulted in 112 deaths, including many teenager protesters at various incidents.[42]

Special Operations Group
The Special Operations Group was raised in 1994 for counter terrorism. A volunteer force, mainly came for promotions and cash rewards, comprising police officers and policemen from the Jammu and Kashmir Police.[43] The group is accused of torture and costodial killings.[44] A Senior Superintendent of this group and his deputy are among the 11 personnels, who were convicted for a fake encounter, which killed a local carpenter, and was labelled as a millitant to get the promotions and rewards.[45][46]

Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958
Main article: Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958
In July 1990 Indian Armed Forces were given special powers under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) that gives protection to Indian Armed Forces personnel from being prosecuted. The law provides them a shield, when committing human rights violations and has been criticised by Human Rights Watch as being wrongly used by the forces.[47] This law is widely condemned by human rights groups.[48][49] United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay has urged India to repeal AFSPA and to investigate the disappearances in Kashmir.[50]

“All three special laws in force in the state assist the government in shielding the perpetrators of human rights violations from prosecution, and encourage them to act with impunity. Provisions of the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act clearly contravene international human rights standards laid down in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as members of the UN Human Rights Committee have pointed out. One Committee member felt that provisions of the act – including imunity from prosecution – were highly dangerous and encouraged violations of the right to life“.

—A clipping from a report published by the Amnesty International, 1995.[51]
In the recent revelations on 24, September 2013 made by the former Indian army chief General V. K. Singh said that, the state politicians of Jammu and Kashmir are being funded by the army secret service to keep the general public at calm and this activity is there since the partition. He also stated that the secret service paid a bribe to a politician to topple the state government which was pushing for AFSPA repeal.[52][53]
Fake encounters
Hundreds of civilian's including women and children have been reported to be extrajudicially executed by Indian security forces and killings concealed as fake encounters.[51]Despite government denial, Indian security officials have reportedly confessed to human right watch of widespread occurrence of fake encounters and its encouragement for awards and promotions[55] According to a BBC interview with an anonymous security person, 'fake encounter' killings are those in which security personnel kill someone in cold blood while claiming that the casualty occurred in a gun battle. It also asserts that the security personnel are Kashmiris and "even surrendered militants".[56] In 2010 three men were reported missing proceeding these missing reports 3 men claimed to be militants were killed in a staged gun battle the army also claimed they had found Pakistani currency among the dead. The major was subsequently suspended and a senior soldier transferred from his post.[57] In 2011, a Special Police Officer and an Indian Army Jawan were charged by the Kashmir police for murder of a civilian whom the duo had killed in an encounter claiming that he was a top Lashkar-e-Taiba militant.[58]

Disappearances
Indian security forces have been implicated in many reports for enforced disappearances of thousands of Kashmiris where the security forces deny having their information and/or custody. This is often in association with torture or extrajudicial killing. The number of men disappeared have been so many to have a new term "half-widows" for their wives who end up impoverished. Human right activists estimate the number of disappeared over eight thousand, last seen in government detention.[51][55][59] These are believed to be dumped in thousands of mass graves across Kashmir[60]

Mass graves
Mass graves have been identified all over Kashmir by human right activists believed to contain bodies of thousands of Kashmiris of enforced disappearances.[61][62] A state human rights commission inquiry confirmed there are thousands of bullet-ridden bodies buried in unmarked graves in Jammu and Kashmir. Of the 2730 bodies uncovered in 4 of the 14 districts, 574 bodies were identified as missing locals in contrast to the Indian governments insistence that all the graves belong to foreign militants[61][63] According to a new deposition submitted by Parvez Imroz and his field workers asserted that the total number of unmarked graves were about 6,000.[64] The British parliament commented on the recent discovery and expressed its sadness and regret of over 6,000 unmarked graves.[65] Christof Heyns, a special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, has warned India that “all of these draconian laws had no place in a functioning democracy and should be scrapped.”[64][66]

Extrajudicial killings by security personnel
In a 1994 report, Human Rights Watch described summary executions of detainees as a "hallmark" of counter-insurgency operations by Indian security forces in Kashmir. The report further stated that such extrajudicial killings were often administered within hours of arrest, and were carried out not as aberrations but as a "matter of policy".[67] In a 1995 report, Amnesty International stated that hundred of civilians had been victims of such killings, which were often claimed by officers as occurring during "encounters" or "cross-fire".[68] A 2010 US state department report cited extrajudicial killings by security forces in areas of conflict such as Kashmir as a major human rights problem in India.[17]

References
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Yah. i think now you people can't disagree with these facts. Neither whole world can be wrong at the same time nor you will deny these self evident facts.
 
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these are the facts no one can deny

This is the best thread here explaining state terrorism of one country against legitimate freedom movement.
 
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these are the facts no one can deny

This is the best thread here explaining state terrorism of one country against legitimate freedom movement.
It's Indian territory and and unlawful activity is dealt with in accordance with the law.

We don't need anybody else tell us how to go about our own business.

Edit: Probably I don't have to be so harsh..
 
Last edited:
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Yah. i think now you people can't disagree with these facts. Neither whole world can be wrong at the same time nor you will deny these self evident facts.

these are the facts no one can deny

This is the best thread here explaining state terrorism of one country against legitimate freedom movement.

See, there has been cases of human rights abuse, I know, we understand. Some of them were reported by the Army, some reported by the journalists and human rights groups.
Denying these facts will be wrong. However, it will also be wrong to assume that Kashmir is a lone case.
Everybody has his fair share of bags and baggage, and that is probably more in case of Pakistan, afterall Pakistan had to loose more than half of their population owing to that.
But, we have faith in the Judiciary and they are also doing a good job in delivering justice.
 
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See, there has been cases of human rights abuse, I know, we understand. Some of them were reported by the Army, some reported by the journalists and human rights groups.
Denying these facts will be wrong. However, it will also be wrong to assume that Kashmir is a lone case.
Everybody has his fair share of bags and baggage, and that is probably more in case of Pakistan, afterall Pakistan had to loose more than half of their population owing to that.
But, we have faith in the Judiciary and they are also doing a good job in delivering justice.


at least you understand that denial of self evident facts on public forums seems to be irrational. But most of the people here are not logical enough :)
 
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All you Pakistani read this, think, feel and then consider this is just next to you. Can you not hear the screams of suffering ?

Why you want to carry the weight of the world when right under your noses there is mass murder and suffering yet you shed your tears for Palestine, Iraq and other places ....

"Charity begins at home"
 
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at least you understand that denial of self evident facts on public forums seems to be irrational. But most of the people here are not logical enough :)

No place is a utopian state. With more than usual engagements a few such cases are bound to happen.
A few points here- With better administration, communication and technology, we can make sure that inconvenient situations don't even arise.

I have seen how these things happen. A search party, going after insurgents,without proper information does not have any idea what they are walking into. That results in excessive use of force. That happens everywhere. What do you think, all of those Baloch disappearance cases are false ? Some of them are true as well. It happens..

The closer one looks, usually the higher the casualties are..the Americans try to keep as far away as possible.

At the end of the day, nothing positive comes out of it. Its a good thing that the worst is behind us now.
 
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