Washington, DC
\nOnce again, the United States Department of State has issued its latest report on human rights practices around the world. The report was issued on March 20, 2023. The section on India (around 39 pages) contains graphic documentation of human rights violations being committed by the Indian military and paramilitary forces in Jammu & Kashmir. Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Chairman, \u2018World Forum for Peace & Justice\u2019 underscored that the scale of gripping wrongdoing in Kashmir dwarfs what was witnessed in Bosnia and East Timor prior to international intervention, yet the world powers have watched the people of Kashmir suffer like spectators at the Roman Coliseum. That complacency gives at least the impression that Kashmiri lives and hopes are worth less than those of others.
\nThis report Fai added at least takes the veil of secrecy off of India\u2019s crimes against humanity. Perhaps now the United Nations can share the outrage felt by the people of Kashmir.
\nHere are the excerpts of the report given below.
\nWhile as \u201cAssociation of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP)\u2019 has reported that there are 8 to 10 thousand persons who have disappeared in Kashmir, Amnesty international echoed, \u201cIndia: \u2018If they are dead, tell us\u2019 \u2013 \u2018Disappearances\u2019 in Jammu and Kashmir.\u201d The State Department report mentions the following regarding disappearances.
\n\u201cIn March 2021, UN special rapporteurs asked the central government to provide details regarding allegations of arbitrary detention, extrajudicial killings, and disappearances in Jammu and Kashmir, including the status of Naseer Ahmad Wani, who disappeared in 2019 after being questioned by army soldiers. The location of Wani was still unknown at year\u2019s end.\u201d
\nThe report adds: \u201cOn July 29, the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance and UN special rapporteurs expressed concern over continued allegations of lack of identification, protection, and preservation of large numbers of unmarked single and mass burial sites in Kashmir, including the failure to conduct proper forensic investigations, efforts to search for the forcibly disappeared, and the lack of progress in identifying the remains of individuals buried therein in accordance with international standards.
\nThe rapporteurs stated they were concerned by reports of intimidation and harassment against individuals and civil society organizations, including human rights defenders and journalists, who called for investigation and accountability.\u201d
\nThe report details many instances where the use of draconian laws has given sense of total impunity to the Indian army in Kashmir. It states, \u201cThe Public Safety Act (PSA), which applies only in Jammu and Kashmir, permits authorities to detain persons without charge or judicial review for up to two years without visitation from family members.
\nIn April, the press reported that more than 500 persons remained in detention under the PSA in Jammu and Kashmir.\u201d It is pertinent to mention here that Amnesty International calls PSA as,\u2019Lawless law.\u2019
\nThe State Department report cites the example of \u201cKashmiri human rights defender Khurram Parvez, who was arrested by the NIA for \u201cterror funding\u201d and \u201cconspiracy\u201d in November 2021, continued in detention. His pretrial detention has been extended at least five times by the NIA Special Court in New Delhi.\u201d Meanwhile, Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on HRD said, \u201cKhurram Parvez is not a terrorist. He is a human rights defender.\u201d
\nAs we know that Committee to Protect Journalist has said that news media in Kashmir is at the brink of extinction.
\nThe State Department report says that, \u201cnoted journalists working in Jammu and Kashmir continued to face barriers to free reporting through communications and movement restrictions…As of July 21, two journalists from The Kashmir Walla, an online newspaper, remained in detention. In June, the State Investigation Agency in Jammu and Kashmir arrested Abdul Alaa Fazili, a one-time contributor to The Kashmir Walla, under the UAPA for a November 2011 article.
\nThe State Department report also added, \u201cKashmiri journalist, Aasif Sultan, detained since 2018, under the UAPA, was rearrested before his release on bail in April under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act (PSA), which allows for detention for up to two years without trial…
\nIn Jammu and Kashmir, police arrested journalists Fahad Shah and Sajad Gul under the UAPA and PSA. According to Human Rights Watch, at least 35 journalists had faced assaults, police interrogations, raids on their places of work, fabricated cases, and restrictions on movement in Jammu and Kashmir since 2019.\u201d
\nThe report continued that \u201cOn July 2, immigration authorities at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi prevented Pulitzer-award winning photojournalist Sanna Irshad Mattoo (Kashmiri) from travelling to France, where she was scheduled to attend a book launch event.
\nAccording to Mattoo, the immigration authorities did not state any reason for stopping her. In October, authorities prevented Mattoo again from boarding a plane on her way to the Pulitzer Prize ceremony in New York, despite her having a valid ticket and visa, without explanation according to media sources.
\nIt is well documented that the bloody occupation has resulted in massive human rights violations, particularly targeting women and children. The sanctity of women has been violated, in a gruesome and unforgiving fashion.
\nThe State Department report says, \u201cWomen in Jammu and Kashmir, northeastern states, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh, as well as vulnerable Dalit or tribal women, were often victims of rape or threats of rape.\u201d
\nDr. Fai warned that \u201cHuman rights will continue to be violated as long as political and civilian killings continue unabated, torture and rape remain widespread, civil liberties are suspended, and international human rights groups and United Nations Thematic Rapporteurs are prohibited from gaining access to Kashmir.\u201d
\nDr. Fai urged the Biden Administration to insist on transparency in Kashmir to build moral suasion against the massive and systematic human rights violations there perpetrated by Indian occupation forces with impunity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Washington, DC Once again, the United States Department of State has issued its latest report on human rights practices around the world. The report was issued on March 20, 2023. The section on India (around 39 pages) contains graphic documentation of human rights violations being committed by the Indian military and paramilitary forces in Jammu […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":257834,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-321327","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n