Daily Times

Despite an immense increase in human rights violations in IOK, the Indian state authorities are continuously hailing to bark at the wrong tree. Also, it seems that the Indian armed forces are committing human rights abuses purposely, going out on a limb.

In the heat of the moment, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has released its second report on the situation of human rights in Kashmir covering the period from May 2018 to April 2019.

Sad to say, the first-ever report on Kashmir by United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) was released after 71 years of conflict, on 14 June 2018.

Anyhow, as expected, human rights in Indian occupied Kashmir are crushed with the bulldozer of atrocities and lacerated with the dagger of the ethnic cleansing mission this year again. The dismal picture of human rights in IOK raises goosebumps of the observers.

It is the need of the hour to go through the report to catch the idea of Indian torture and molestation. So, below are the incidents from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Report 2019.

Last year registered the highest rate of conflict-related causalities in Indian occupied Kashmir since 2008.

According to the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), 160 civilian causalities were reported in 2018, the highest number of civilians’ carnage over the previous decade.

Also, the security forces have killed 1,081 civilians extrajudicially between 2008 and 2018. The pen trembles while writing such inhuman acts and brutalities by the Indian state.

On the other hand, civil society groups believe that the excessive use of armed forces by Indian authorities instigated a drastic rise in causalities in 2018.

In contrast, the Indian Army continued using live ammunition and pellet-firing shotguns to disperse the protestors resulting in serious injuries and deaths.

Unfortunately, authorities did not investigate the excessive use of force and extrajudicial killings. It seems that the Indian armed forces are not willing to re-examine their crowd-control techniques and rules of engagement.

The story of atrocities doesn’t end here. The 12-gauge pump-action shotgun firing metal pellets on indefensible and hands-tied Kashmiris is one of the dreadful weapons used in Kashmir. Indian armed forces had never deployed this weapon elsewhere in India.

A civilian, returning from Eid prayer, was killed in Anantnag district after being hit by the security forces on 16 June 2018.

Similarly, a 19-months old girl got hit by the metal pellet in her right eye on 25 November 2018. Though doctors removed the pellet from her eye successfully, yet they were unsure whether she would be able to see the colors of this world again.

Sad to say, Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital Srinagar reported that around 1,253 people, hit by metal pellets, have lost their vision since 2016.

Law enforcement bodies using less-lethal weapons should not ignore the “Right to Life” in any situation. So, India is committing sheer violence of international rules and the charter of UN human rights.

Moreover, the Index of atrocities is heaving with the brutal and inhuman acts of the Indian Armed Forces. So, the tale of terribleness extends to the unlawful detentions, molestations of women, physical assaults, and invasions of privacy.

The Indian Army has reintroduced a notorious strategy of “Cordon and Search-Operations” in 2017 resulting in causalities of a 55-year-old man Mohammed Yousuf and a 24 years-old, Mohammed Saleem Malik.

Moreover, JKCCS reported 120 cases of public property destruction including 31 houses completely burnt down in 2018.

Furthermore, the “Black Law” of Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act (1978) devised by Indian authorities doesn’t provide for the court review of detention. So, the Indian Army continues the successive detention of civilians, political protestors, and civil society activists.

Furthermore, the government of Jammu and Kashmir amended article 10 of PSA in July 2018. This amendment lifted the barrier of detaining permanent residents of the state within the territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Almost 40 people, charged under PSA, were shifted outside the state of Jammu and Kashmir. This allows Indian authorities to punish them further while keeping them away from their families.

On the other hand, Indian authorities continued practicing arbitrary shutdowns of the internet and local media channels. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), South Asia reported the highest rate of a shutdown of the internet in Jammu and Kashmir, in the world.

Also, various journalists of Kashmir complained that social media channels like Twitter and Facebook have removed Kashmir related content from their accounts in 2018.

In June 2018 a journalist Muheet ul Aslam was allegedly assaulted by the local police, a prominent Kashmiri journalist Shujaat Bukhari was assassinated on 14 June 2018, and senior journalist Asif Sultan was formally arrested and detained for alleged involvement in unlawful activities.

Moreover, foreign journalists reported extended restrictions, introduced in 2018, on reporting from Jammu and Kashmir.

Last yet not least, Reuters photojournalist Cathal McNaughton was not allowed to re-enter in India due to the alleged visit of “NO GO AREAS” of Kashmir during the last visit.

Though India claims itself as “Largest Democracy of the World”, yet it is failed to maintain harmony among diverse ethnicity and various religious groups. “Hindutawa”, “Akhand Bharat” and “Gao Mata” are the concepts devised by Hindu fundamentalists to exploit others. Indian authorities should consider it seriously.