KIIR seeks end to extrajudicial killings, persecution of youth in IoK

 Kashmir Institute of International Relations (KIIR) has voiced serious concern over growing incidents of extra-judicial killings, arbitrary arrests and persecution of Kashmiri youth by Indian forces in the UN-recognized disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

In a communique addressed to the UN Special Rapporteur on Summary and Extra Executions, the KIIR chairman Altaf Hussain Wani while referring to the killing of two civilians Manzoor Ahmed Shalla and Bashir Ahmad by the Indian forces on 12th June in Kashmir’s Sopore town said, “The cold-blooded murder of the youth in Police custody was yet another sickening chronicle of extra-judicial killings and senseless violence that has taken a heavy toll on precious human lives in the region”.

He said that it was quite perplexing that the custodial killing of unarmed and defenseless Kashmiris in so-called cordon-and-search operations continue unabated despite the ravaging Covid 19 pandemic. He said that over the past one and a half year 36 cases of custodial deaths have been reported in Kashmir valley alone. “Genocide of Kashmiris under the garb of black laws has become a routine matter in Jammu and Kashmir where men, women and especially the youth of Kashmir have been at the receiving end of the reckless violence being used as a weapon of war by the government of India to suppress the voices of dissent in the region.

“The rampant extra-judicial killings, which go vastly unnoticed at the international level, highlight the growing threat of the prolonged conflict and its devastating impacts on the local population”, Mr. Wani said adding that it was high time that the international community should take notice of the matter and hold India accountable for the war crimes being committed by its forces in Kashmir.

About arbitrary arrests, maltreatment, and persecution of Kashmiri youth by Indian forces he said that the arrest of Javed Ahmed Dar a resident of Sadiq Colony Sopore on Tuesday 15 June 2021 was yet another incident of lawlessness. “Dar’s brother Irfan Ahmad Dar was brutally killed by the Indian police during custody, last year”, he said adding that Javed Dar was being terrorized and questioned by the police as to how the UN special reporter came to know about the details of this case (custodial killing of his brother).

“The arrest and illegal detention of Dar shows an alarming level of reprisals faced by the hapless Kashmiri victims and their families who continue to experience the double-edged onslaught of India’s hegemonic authoritarianism”, Wani said adding that the systematic exploitation of victims, terrorizing and punishing individuals for cooperating with human rights defenders was a shameful practice the Indian government has been using as a war tactic to prevent Kashmiris’ voices reaching the international community.

Urging the UN special rapporteur to take serious notice of the issue to help stop the persecution and illegal exploitation of Kashmiris by the Indian occupation authorities.

Meanwhile, the KIIR chief said he is hopeful UN High Commissioner on Human Rights will release 3rd comprehensive report on the human rights situation of the occupied Kashmir during the 47th session of the UN Human Rights Council .