India Is Committing Humanitarian Crimes Through Forced Disappearances Of Kashmiris: Speakers

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Sep, 2024) Speakers at a seminar organized by Kashmir Institute of International Relations have voiced their grave concern over the systematic use of enforced disappearance by India in Kashmir terming it as a crime against humanity.

The seminar, organised by World Muslim Congress in collaboration with Kashmir Institute of International Relations on the sidelines of the 57th session of the UNHRC, was attended by international specialists, human rights advocates, Geneva based diplomats, and members of international civil society.

The seminar/ Webinar was moderated by Altaf Hussain Wani permanent representative World Muslim Congress Geneva and speakers include Ghulam Muhammad Safi Convenor APHC. Dr Sajjad Latief Executive Director KPRI , Marry Scully American Human Rights defender, Syed Muhammad Ali Noted analyst, said a press release received from Geneva.

Speaking on the occasion, the speakers, while terming enforced disappearances as a grave violation of human rights, stated that nearly 10,000 individuals have been reported missing in Kashmir while in custody of Indian forces since 1989.

The epidemic of involuntary disappearances, they said, has devastated the lives of thousands of Kashmiri families whose loved ones have been subjected to enforced disappearances.

The systematic use of enforced disappearance by India in Kashmir, they said, has been recognised as a crime against humanity. 

The Kashmiri half-widows and half wives, they said serves as a poignant reminder of the ongoing plight faced by parents and relatives of victims, who continue to live in anguish, uncertainty and yearning for truth and justice.

They lamented that the involuntary disappearances had left families shattered, with many parents and relatives enduring years of trauma.

"The pain and suffering experienced by these families cannot be overstated; their cries for justice echo in the silence of unmarked mass graves that remain uninvestigated", the speakers added.

Among the most affected, they said, were the women especially the ones who have taken on the heart-wrenching titles of “Half-Widows” and “Half-Wives.” 

Citing the woeful plight of half-widows, they said, while living a life full of challenges these women trapped in a limbo of grief were compelled to carry the dual burden of loss and social stigma.

The speakers pointed out that the enforced disappearance was one of the many repressive tactics the Indian government has been using as a tool to break the Kashmiris' resolve.  

They said that despite international calls for accountability, the Indian government has failed to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

"This lack of commitment to international human rights standards on the part of India is deeply concerning", the speakers added added.

Referring to the devastating impacts of the conflict on the Kashmiri society, the speakers said that the unresolved dispute and years of repression has wrought havoc in Kashmir. 

The participants of the seminar, while expressing solidarity with the families and loved ones of the thousands of individuals who have been subjected to enforced disappearances in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, demanded the international community to take effective notice of the matter and hold the India's human rights abusing regime accountable for the crimes being committed against the Kashmiri people.

They also condemned the Indian government for its continued neglect and refusal to address these critical issues.

They also demanded an independent inquiry into thousands of cases of enforced disappearances and the existence of unmarked mass graves in Kashmir.