Over 5,400 children go missing in IIOJK since 2016, APHC blames Indian forces
Srinagar: Over 5,400 children were reported missing in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir between 2016 and 2022, with over 1,500 still untraced, reveals data.
According to Kashmir Media Service, in 2016, 1,070 children went missing, including 589 boys and
In 2017, a total of 725 children were reported missing, including 431 boys and 294 girls. In 2018, a total of 800 children were reported missing, including 384 boys and 416 girls. In 2019, a total of 661 children were reported missing, including 306 boys and 355 girls. In 2020, a total of 627 children were reported missing, including 277 boys and 350 girls.
In 2021, a total of 723 children were reported missing, including 280 boys and 443 girls. In 2022, a total of 821 children were reported missing, including 319 boys and 502 girls.
The All Parties Hurriyat Conference spokesman, Advocate Abdul Rashid Minhas, in a statement issued in Srinagar, deplored the growing number of missing children in the occupied territory. He said that the Indian Army and its agencies are responsible for these disappearances, as they pick up children during cordon and search operations (CASOs) and sell them inside India. Another reason, he added, is that children leave their homes due to frustration caused by frequent nocturnal raids by the Indian Army and paramilitary forces, as well as the maltreatment of inmates, including children.
