Wani seeks UNHRC action against India’s state terrorism in IIOJK
Geneva: Chairman, Kashmir Institute of International Relations, Altaf Hussain Wani has emphasized the critical need for accountability and justice for victims of Delhi-sponsored state terrorism in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Kashmir Media Service, taking part in a general Debate item 3 of the 58th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Altaf Hussain Wani while speaking on behalf of the World Muslim Congress urged the Council’s urgent attention towards enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
“The discovery of the bodies of Showkat Ahmad and Riyaz Ahmad, who went missing last month along with their companion Mukhtar Ahmad from Qazigund, serves as a haunting reminder of the ongoing violence and human rights abuses that have plagued the restive region for decades”, Wani said.
He said that since the early 1990s, amid the uprising against Indian occupation, enforced disappearances have tragically become a norm in Kashmir.
Citing the findings from the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) and the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP), he noted that since 1990, there have been more than 10,000 cases of enforced disappearances and approximately 8,000 custodial deaths linked to torture.
“The case of Abdul Rashid Dar, who was found dead in Zurhama forests in March 2023 after being arrested, exemplifies the brutal state violence in Kashmir”, he added.
The KIIR chairman identified the impunity granted to Indian security forces under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) as a significant factor contributing to human rights violations in the occupied territory.
He stated that the AFSPA enables the Indian occupation forces to act without the fear of legal repercussions.
