By Sara Nazir

On 24 March 2023, Indian forces killed a young boy during a search and cordon operation in the Kupwara district of Kashmir. Killing of youngsters and innocent children in Kashmir by Indian forces is not a new or unique phenomenon. Indian troops have a long history of mass killings and human rights violations in Kashmir. Kashmir remains a flashpoint for potential armed conflict between two nuclear-armed countries, however, international community remains occupied with dilemmas over Ukraine war and human rights violations being reported from that part of the globe.

Kashmir issue remains unresolved for over 75 years now, beginning back in 1947 at the time of partition of the sub-continent by British rulers. The division was being carried out through a well calculated partition plan and, subsequently, regions having Muslim majority were becoming part of East and West Pakistan. However, Indian leadership at the time via wrongful means, brought the region under Indian control by forcefully placing Indian forces in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJ&K). The region has since become one the world's most renowned places for human rights abuses at the hands of Indian authorities.

A local Kashmiri news and survey outlet, Kashmir Media Service reports that in last 34 years alone, India has killed around 915 children in the IIOJK. The agency's Research Section published the report on Children's Day stating that children in IIOJK are undoubdtly the worst victims of Indian brutalities in the region - that have left over 107,887 children orphaned as a result of indiscriminate mass murdering and ethnic cleansing of Muslims of the valley.

The people of Kashmir are facing an existential threat from the Indian government. Indian troops in Kashmir have committed major human rights crimes in their attempts to quell the resistance, involving extrajudicial murders, rape, torture, and intentional strikes on healthcare personnel. Indian government troops started a violent crackdown on escalating violence by rebels in the valley's mostly Muslim population. Its crackdown was characterized from the start by violence towards residents, along with the killing of unarmed protestors, civilian massacres, and targeted killings of captives. US Department of state in its report has mentioned the grave human rights violation by the Indian government in Kashmir:-

In March 2021, UN special rapporteurs asked the central government to provide details regarding allegations of arbitrary detention, extrajudicial killings, and disappearances in Jammu and Kashmir, including the status of Naseer Ahmad Wani, who disappeared in 2019 after being questioned by army soldiers. The location of Wani was still unknown at year’s end.

After the abrogation of article 370, Indian government dramatically intensified its suppression of the Kashmiri people. Mr. Zaffar Qureshi (Chairman Kashmir Campaign Global) in his address in the 52nd session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, said, "Since 2019, when India unilaterally scrapped Jammu and Kashmir's special status, New Delhi has drastically intensified repression of rights in the occupied territory." The Indian government in justification of their inhumane act, claims that cross-border terrorism has been reduced after the revocation of article 370. Which in reality, is a new tactic to harass the people of Kashmir and further has stopped Kashmiri people to claim their rights. The revocation of article 370 has resulted in the "Anti-encroachment Drive" throughout the valley in which the government of India has started demolishing houses of famous Kashmiri leaders by labeling them as illegal construction.

Another major crime against humanity that the Indian forces are guilty of committing in IIOJK is not only killing but also performing burials of Muslims detainees without informing or taking prior consent of their loved ones. Indian forces have not only been committing murder of Muslims of IIOJK but also piling up their bodies in mass graves without giving a final chance to the victims' families to carry out their last rites. A news report by Arab News also sheds light on the inhumane practice introduced by the Indian government :

According to protocols introduced by the local administration in Kashmir in early April, bodies of militants or anyone killed during encounters with security forces are neither handed to their families nor allowed a burial in their native village, a departure from previous practices. (June, 2020)

Indian Government's response towards the internationalization of the Kashmir issue by Pakistan remains largely undemocratic. Indian rhetoric towards Pakistan has been marked by aggression, particularly in the context of Kashmir. However, keeping in view the importance of bringing normalcy of life in the region, Pakistan has always opted for peaceful resolution of the issue. Spokesperson of Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pakistan, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said, “We will also continue to extend political, diplomatic and moral support to our Kashmiri brothers and sisters for the just and peaceful settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolutions.”

Indian behavior in the case of the Kashmir issue may give a rise to a conventional war that will eventually be consequential for the entire region. Where the Indian administration is not willing to sit in a dialogue with Pakistan, the role of the international community is significant in mitigating the conflict. The long-standing issue of Kashmir without any religious discrimination should be resolved according to the will of the people, which are Muslim in the majority.

*Opinions expressed in this article are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of The South Asia Times