Islamabad : India and its proxy in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir are using all kinds of torture including physical, mental and psychological torture at a large scale as a tool to to prolong New Delhi’s illegal hold on the territory and to suppress the Kashmiris’ righteous and just demand for UN-recognized plebiscite.
A report released by the Research Section of Kashmir Media Service on the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, today, revealed that Indian government and its establishment were using physical, mental and psychological torture at a large scale to stifle Kashmiris’ voice for self-determination in the occupied territory. It revealed that the Indian forces during their unabated acts of state terrorism martyred 96,498 Kashmiris including 7,419 in custody and fake encounters, since January 1989 till date.
India continues to use torture as a state policy in the internationally recognised disputed territory.
The report maintained that 689 women had been martyred by the Indian forces’ personnel while dozens detained and interrogated since January 2001 till date. It pointed out that womenfolk constitute the majority of the Kashmiris suffering from multiple psychic problems and mental torture.
The report said that India arrested 181,121Kashmiris, including women and children, during crackdowns and military operations since 1989. “These arrested people were physically and mentally tortured by the Indian army, paramilitary and police personnel in different interrogation centers, police stations and jails. The use of torture by the troops has been widespread and indiscriminate in occupied Jammu and Kashmir,” it said.
It said 97,044 Kashmiris, including men, women and children, have been injured due to use of brute forces , firing of bullets, pellets, teargas shells and systematic use of torture by Indian troops and police personnel on the people in IIOJK since 2000.
The report said Indian Army, paramilitary, Special Operation Group, National Investigation Agency and State Investigation Agency have established scores of torture centres across occupied Kashmir while the “Cargo, Harinivas, Papa-1 and Papa-II, and Humhama and police stations are the most notorious interrogation centres where thousands of Kashmiris lost their lives due to severe torture during interrogation. Even top APHC leaders, Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai, Altaf Ahmed Shah and Ghulam Mohammed Butt died in police custody. Syed Ali Gilani, died in September, 2021, while under illegal detention for over a decade in his Srinagar house. Prominent liberation leader, Muhammad Maqbool Butt and Muhammad Afzal Guru were hanged in fake cases,” it added.
The report said that the historic Hurriyat leadership, continuing to be largely sidelined, incarcerated, silenced under black law or under house arrest, the political activism base feels heavily muzzled. Over three thousands of Hurriyat leaders, activists, politicians, Ulema, human rights defenders and journalists including APHC Chairman, Masarrat Aalam Butt, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, Muhammad Yasin Malik, Aasiya Andrabi, Mian Abdul Qayoom, Dr Hamed Fayaz, Nayeem Ahmed Khan, Fehmeeda Sofi, Naheeda Nasreen, Ayaz Muhammad Akbar, Peer Saifullah, Raja Merajuddin Kalwal, Shahid-ul-Islam, Farooq Ahmed Dar, Mushtaq-ul-Islam, Bilal Sidiqi, Molvi Bashir Irfani, Noor Muhammad Fayaz, Hayat Ahmed Butt, , Fayaz Hussain Jaferi, Showket Hakeem, Zaffar Akbar Butt, Advocate Zahid Ali, Dr Muhammad Qasim Fakhtoo, Dr Muhammad Shafi Shariati, Rafiq Ahmad Ganai, Umar Adil Dar, Saleem Nanaji, Muhammad Yasin Butt, Farooq Tawheedi, Ghulam Muhammad Khan Sopori , human rights defender Khurrum Parvaiz, journalist, Irfan Majeed and others are languishing in different jails of IIOJK and India under black laws in fabricated cases.
The report pointed out that the life of the people of occupied Kashmir had become a living hell since August 05, 2019, when the Hindutva BJP Indian government repealed the special status of IIOJK by violating international laws and placed it under military and police siege. “Occupied Kashmir has been turned into the world’s largest prison and military state by India,” it said. The report said that over 29490 Kashmiris have been detained and tortured physically and mentally by Indian forces personnel in custody and police stations while 2495 were injured by use of brute forces in IIOJK since 5 Aug 2019.
A significant portion of the adult population in IIOJK faces extreme civil constraints, including mass arbitrary detentions, systematic digital surveillance, and an economy heavily controlled by the New Delhi controlled administration under the guise of “peace and normalcy”.
The disputed region divided into a Union Territory following the abrogation of Article 370 and 35 A, continues to experience insignificant socio-political shifts which largely impacted the economic, social, political, employment, religious. media and legal and constitutional identity and security of the locals of the territory.
The UN Special Procedures experts and global human rights organizations note that a significant number of adults, including journalists, civil activists, and local leaders, have faced arbitrary detentions under draconian laws like the Public Safety Act (PSA) Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The imposition of new domicile rules by New Delhi without consent of a local governance and political parties are altering the local traditional voting and residency frameworks, drawing ongoing protests and legal challenges from local and international observers;
Kashmiri widows and “half-widows” (wives of the disappeared because they do not know if their husbands are dead or alive) face an ongoing mental and socioeconomic crisis. Trapped in perpetual uncertainty, they suffer from deep-rooted psychological trauma, complicated grief, and depression. Alongside severe mental health struggles, they also endure intense financial instability and social stigmatization, they cannot complete the mourning process, leading to prolonged psychological agony and trans-generational trauma.
Studies estimate that a significant percentage of women in the Kshmir Valley exhibit severe symptoms of depression, anxiety, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Many suffer from sleep disturbances, dissociation, and even suicidal ideation. Widows and half-widows face societal policing and stigma. Those who attempt to remarry or rebuild their lives often face backlash and isolation from their communities and in-laws.
The latest reports from the Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (IMHANS) in Srinagar highlight a worsening mental health crisis. Key findings indicate that the institute treated around 200,000 patients in the previous year, with up to 400 Outpatient Department (OPD) visits recorded on peak days. Furthermore, nearly 11.3% of the valley’s adult population suffers from a mental illness—significantly higher than the national average.
The report pointed out that the life of the people of occupied Kashmir has become a living hell since August 05, 2019, when BJP regime repealed the special status of IIOJK and placed it under military siege. “Occupied Kashmir has been turned into the world’s largest prison and military state by India,” it said.
The report said, India is carrying out the genocide of Kashmiris for the past 78 years and the killing and arrests spree witnessed during continued massive cordon and search operations and house raids since August 05, 2019. Kashmiri youth are picked up from their homes under black laws, hundred were killed and buried at unknown locations of the territory, it said.
The report recommended unconditional access for international human rights organizations to IIOJK to assess the prevailing human rights situation in the territory. New Delhi should also ratify the UN Convention against Torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, it said.
The report asked world community, particularly the UN to take cognizance of New Delhi’s brutal actions in IIOJK and come forward in a big way to save the Kashmiris from the Indian atrocities.
