Daily Times

Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari has reminded how India used rape as a weapon of war in Occupied Kashmir and continues to carry out the horrendous crime.

On the occasion of International Day for Elimination of Sexual Violence, the federal minister in a tweet wrote how on 23rd February 1991, mass rape by Occupation Indian forces happened in Kunan and Poshpora villages.

“Today is International Day for Elimination of Sexual Violence. Governments always seek to eliminate this horrendous crime as societies all over face it. What is condemnable is when governments themselves use sexual violence as a policy as Occupation Indian governments have been doing continuously in IOJK,” Mazari wrote.

According to independent and unbiased sources, there have been 500-600 individual rape cases in the Indian occupied state of Jammu and Kashmir per year. Most of these cases are not reported in media and police, mainly owing to the social reasons. The raped women and their families cannot afford this social stigma, despite the fact that, these incidents are forced upon and most of the time, rape is committed on gun point by the occupation forces, who have total impunity. In fact, through discriminatory laws, imposed in IOK, Indian security forces have total impunity to do anything against the innocent people of Kashmir.

The Armed Forces Special Power Act and the Public Safety Act, provide total freedom of action against any one in IOK by Indian Army and paramilitary forces. Since Indian Army has the power and authority to do anything against the poor people of Kashmir, during raids and house searching operations in IOK, they take out the men for interrogation and then rape the women folk at gun point.

The worst case on the record of Human rights organization was the gang rape of over 100 women in two villages of the Kupwara district; Kunan and Poshpora. These two villages are adjacent and now given a joint name; Kunan Poshpora. The brutal men of Indian Army (Rajputana Regiment) criminally assaulted these villages on the darkness of night on February 23, 1991. Women of all ages; from 9 years to 80 years women were raped by Indian Army men on that night. As per details, “at Kunan Poshpora women of all ages; elderly women, young girls and pregnant women were raped, while men were taken out to interrogation centres.”