In Indian illegally occupied Kashmir (IIOJK), Indian troops and police personnel subjected thousands of Kashmiri youth to enforced disappearance during custody over the last thirty two years.
On the International Day of Disappeared, today, the Kashmir Media Service released a report stating that over 8,000 youth vanished in the custody after they were picked up by the troops, police and paramilitary forces since 1990 in IIOJK.
Indian occupied Kashmir being most militarized zone in the world has witnessed endless killings, enforced disappearances, torture, rape and other brutalities by the Indian forces over the last three decades.
The report revealed that more than 200,000 relatives of victims of the enforced disappearances have been working tirelessly to trace their missing ones.
As per the report, families of the disappeared suffer economically because in most cases the breadwinner of the family is the victim.
The report maintained that disappearances not only silence opponents but also create uncertainty and fear in the wider community.
Inhumane, savage and insensate acts of violence and forced disappearances have been committed by all tributaries of the Indian security apparatus, the reported added.
Furthermore, the practice of enforced disappearances has given rise to a new class of people called half-widows and half orphans, now common phrases used in Kashmir.
The impunity provided to the troops through draconian laws like Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Disturbed Areas Act and Public Safety Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act gave security forces, the licence to kill, terrorise, arrest and harass the people without being questioned.
Meanwhile, in a joint statement, Kashmiri political organizations and their factions expressed solidarity with the families of the enforced disappeared persons.
They appealed to the world community to play its role in tracing the whereabouts of the thousands of enforced disappeared Kashmiris.
