Human rights abuses in Kashmir have been perpetrated by various belligerents in the territories controlled by both India and Pakistan since the two countries' conflict over the region began with their first war in 1947–1948, shortly after the partition of British India. The organized breaches of fundamental human rights in Kashmir are tied to the contested territorial status of the region, over which India and Pakistan have fought multiple wars. More specifically, the issue pertains to abuses committed in Indian-administered Kashmir (comprising the territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh) and in Pakistani-administered Kashmir (comprising the territories of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan).
Indian-administered Kashmir
Incidents near the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan The Line of Control (LOC) is a military control line between Indian and Pakistani-controlled parts of Kashmir. The line does not constitute a legally international boundary but it is a de facto border, designated in 1948 as a cease-fire line, it divided Kashmir into two parts and closed the Jehlum valley route, the only entrance of the Kashmir Valley. This territorial division which, to this day still exists severed many villages and separated family members from each other.Ranjan Kumar Singh, Sarhad: Zero Mile, (Hindi), Parijat Prakashan, The landmines planted by the Army alongsides of the line have killed scores of innocent people and left thousands as disabled. Without compensation, these disabled persons in the Indian Kashmir are fighting for the survival.
During 2008 Kashmir unrest, the Hindu extremist groups and the supporters of Bharatiya Janata Party blocked the Srinagar-Jammu National highway (NH 1A). The only national highway which connects Kashmir Valley to the rest of India remained closed for several days and stopped the supply of essential commodities. In response to the blockade, on 11 August 2008, under the leadership of Sheikh Abdul Aziz, 50,000 to 2,50,000 Kashmiri protesters attempted to cross the Line of Control to Muzaffarabad. The protesters were stopped at Uri which resulted in killing of fifteen people and hundreds injured when police and Indian paramilitary forces fired on them.Tensions rise as Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdul Aziz shot dead A slogan raised by the protesters was, (Break down the blood-soaked Line of Control let Kashmir be united again).
Jammu and Kashmir
Human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir, a disputed territory administered by India, are an ongoing issue. The allegations range from mass killings, forced disappearances, torture, rape and sexual abuse to suppression of freedom of speech and bans on religious gatherings. Several massacres have taken place in the region since 1990. The Indian Army, Central Reserve Police Force, Border Security personnel and various militant groups have been accused of committing severe human rights abuses against Kashmiri civilians.
According to official figures released in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly around 47,000 people—including 7,000 police personnel and 20,000 militants—have died because of the insurgency , and 3,400 have disappeared. According to a 2006 report by Human Rights Watch, at least 20,000 civilians have died in the conflict. A WikiLeaks issue accused India of systemic human rights abuses, it stated that US diplomats possessed evidence of the apparent widespread use of torture by Indian police and security forces. The Intercept in 2019 also reported of "systematic" torture perpetrated by Indian authorities without punishment or accountability.
India rejected a UN panel in April 2019 asking about steps taken by New Delhi to address alleged abuses listed in their OHCHR report. Amnesty International halted its operation in India in September 2020 after alleged government freezing of its bank accounts, which the rights group partly attributed to its calls for Indian authorities to account for "grave human rights violations in Delhi riots and Jammu & Kashmir." India's National Investigation Agency raided several NGOs in October 2020 for alleged funding to terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir, the action was criticized by a spokesman for activist Parveena Ahanger as a case of "crackdown on the human rights defenders in Kashmir".
Indian security forces
In September 1990 the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act was enacted in Jammu and Kashmir after passing in the Parliament of India to handle the rise in Kashmir Insurgency. “(PDF) The Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act, 1990” Indian Ministry of Law and Justice Published by the Authority of New Delhi Human rights group Amnesty claim that the special powers under (AFSPA) gives the security force immunity from alleged violations committed,"Crisis in Kashmir" Council on Foreign Relations retrieved 11 September 2012 and condemn it. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay has urged India to repeal AFSPA and to investigate the disappearances in Kashmir.
On 26 February 2009 the Chief Minister stated the act should be repealed, the security forces however said that revoking the act would be detrimental to security and help terrorist moral, though the militancy has declined the act is still in force International NGO's as well as the US state department have documented excesses such as disappearances, torture and arbitrary executions carried out during India's counter terrorism operations.
Human rights watch has also accused the Indian Security Forces of using children as spies and messengers, India army have targeted reporters and human rights activists, they have also been accused of committing over 200 rapes in an attempt to intimidate the local population. Wikileaks cables are reported to contain material stating that the International Committee of the Red Cross briefed US officials in India, alleging that India "condoned" torture and that "sexual penetration" formed part of the maltreatment of victims. The ICRC alleged that of the 1296 detainees interviewed, 681 had reported of being tortured. Of those, 304 individuals complained of sexual torture/abuse.
In 2005 Médecins Sans Frontières conducted a survey in Kashmir which found that the number of people who had witnessed a rape in Kashmir since 1989 was comparably far higher than the number of people who had witnessed a rape in other conflict zones such as Chechnya and Sri Lanka. The survey found that 13% of respondents had witnessed rape and 11.6% of the interviewees had themselves been victims of sexual abuse since 1989.Wailing Woes, Combat Law, 10 October 2007 Dr Seema Kazi states that rapes committed by Indian security forces outstrips the rapes committed by militants in both scale and frequency. Professor William Baker stated at the 52nd United Nations Commission on Human Rights that rape in Kashmir was an active strategy of the Indian forces to humiliate Kashmiri people.
In April 2002, authorities in Indian-administered Kashmir arrested three Indian paramilitary soldiers following the gang rape of 17-year-old girl. In July 2011, there were anti-India protests in Srinagar against the alleged rape of a 25-year-old village woman in the village of Manzgam.
In October 2011, the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir apologised for the release of names, parentages and addresses of 1400 rape victims. However, no details were revealed as to whether the rapes were by security forces, militants or part of crime. Liaquat Ali Khan, an academic writer considers that these excesses in Kashmir do not have official sanction but are easy to commit because of the powers, to cordon and search villages and suburbs, that are vested to security forces by the law. The authorities use association with terrorists to discredit the testimony of the victims, in case the association is established. The security forces have carried out extrajudicial killings, assaults and other human rights violations. An investigation by the Jammu and Kashmir state human rights commission has found 2730 bodies in unmarked graves at 38 sites in northern Kashmir. At least 574 of these were identified as being local people.
On April 9, 2017, in the Kashmir human shield incident a 26-year-old man captured by the Indian Army, was tied to the front of a Jeep belonging to Indian Army as a column of Indian troops was moving through a locality. The man was reportedly tied to the vehicle to dissuade other Kashmiri insurgents from hurling stones at the Indian troops. The man was accused of being involved in throwing stones at Indian troops. The Government of India stated that it would stand by the officer who took the decision to use the insurgent as a human shield. J&K Human Rights Commission ordered the Government of Jammu and Kashmir to pay 10 Lakh Rupees as compensation to man used as human shield. Jammu and Kashmir government refused to pay. Major Leetul Gogoi was awarded a Chief of Army Staff Commendation Card by General Bipin Rawat for counter-insurgency operations, which included tying a Kashmiri protester to a jeep as a human shield.
Reports of torture emerged in 2019 during the Jammu and Kashmir lockdown, with 3,000 Kashmir residents purportedly detained on 29 August. Activists on 25 September of the same year found that roughly 13,000 boys had been detained since 5 August, claiming that Indian authorities used excessive force during arrest and torture on some of the boys while imprisoned.
A joint 2020 survey from New York's Skidmore College and a Kashmiri university found that 91% of polled college students wanted a complete withdrawal of Indian forces from the region. According to the Associated Press in August 2019, most Kashmiris wanted independence from India or a merger with Pakistan.
Muslim militants
The rapes by Islamic militants have been reported since the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. On 22 October 1947, Pashtun militants invaded Baramulla in a Pakistan army truck, and raped women including European nuns. In March 1990, the wife of a BSF inspector was kidnapped, tortured and gang-raped for many days. Then her body with broken limbs was abandoned on a road. On 14 April 1990, a Kashmiri Pandit nurse from the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences in Srinagar was gang-raped and then beaten to death by terrorists. Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) took responsibility for the crime, accusing Bhat of informing the police about the presence of militants in the hospital. On 6 June 1990, a lab assistant at the Government Girls High School Trehgam, was kidnapped and gang raped for many days. Then she was sliced at a sawmill.
Prana Ganjoo was abducted with her husband in Sopore. She was gang-raped for a number of days before they were both killed in November 1990.
From 1993, reports of rape by Islamic militants had increased, and there were many cases of the militants threatening to kill the family unless a woman was handed over to the militants. According to the HRW, the rape victims of militants suffered ostracism and there was a "code of silence and fear" that prevented people from reporting such abuse. According to the HRW, the investigation of case of rape by militants was difficult because many Kashmiris were reluctant to discuss it for the fear of violent reprisals.The Human Rights Crisis in Kashmir. Asia Watch, a division of Human Rights Watch. Lat accessed on 10 March 2012. Also published as a book: The increase in number of rape cases resulted in an increased number of abortions, leading to one case of murder of doctor. The doctor was accused of being an informer by the Islamic groups Hezb-ul Mujahidin and Al Jehad. In January 1991, a woman was forcibly asked to "marry" a militant. Her brother was killed when the family refused, and the girl was taken away.