Dr. Muhammad Khan Head of International Relations Department, National Defense University, Islamabad
Dr. Muhammad Khan (Head of International Relations Department, National Defense University, Islamabad) while giving a presentation on the topic, said that the very tragedy of Kashmiris had started after 1947 when they were denied their genuine right of self-determination. Various forms of state terrorism have been part of a deliberate campaign by the Indian army against Muslim Kashmiris, especially since 1989. It has been manifested in brutal tactics such as crackdowns, curfews, illegal detentions, massacre, targeted killings, sieges, arson, torture, disappearances, unnamed graves, rape, molestation of Muslim women and killing of persons through fake encounters. According to a report on human rights violations in Indian Occupied Kashmir by Indian Army and its paramilitary forces, there have been deaths of 93,964 innocent Kashmiri since 1989 to September 30, 2013. Besides this alarming figure of open killings, there have been 7,014 custodial killings, 122,090 arrests, destruction and razing of 105,982 houses. The brutal Indian security forces have orphaned over 107, 466 children, widowed 22,776 women and gang raped 10,077 women. Over violence in Indian Occupied Kashmir, Human Rights Watch has documented several failures to ensure protection of human rights. It has called for the repeal of those laws which provide the armed forces with extraordinary powers to search, detain, and use lethal force, leading to numerous human rights violations. They also provide immunity for security forces—their prosecutions, even where the facts are well established, are rare. Amnesty International has pointed out grave human rights violations in the Indian occupied Kashmir by indicating large scale incidents of custodial killings, enforced disappearances, rapes, and arbitrary laws leading to total denial of rights like Jammu and Kashmir Disturbed Areas Act, and the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act and Public Safety Act, security forces personnel have extraordinary powers to shoot suspected lawbreakers, and to destroy structures suspected of harboring militants or arms.
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