IOJK Unrest: Alleged Killings Spark Protests

Amara Malik

There have been riots and outrage in the region following the killing of three civilians in Indian-Occupied Kashmir by Indian Army Officers. After being supposedly taken into custody by the army on December 23, 2023, three men—who identify as Shabir Ahmad, 25 years, Muhammad Showkat, 28 years, and Safeer Hussain, 48 years—were subsequently discovered dead in a nearby forest. 

The army claims that the civilians lost their lives in the crossfire after engaging in gunfire with the security forces. The locals and the relatives of the dead, however, have refuted this assertion, claiming that the people were innocent and unaffiliated with any extremist organizations. 

After being subjected to torture, five people were sent to the Indian Army hospital in serious condition. “Torture has severely injured my two brothers and a cousin,” said the local. According to a local, they are receiving care at an army hospital. Indian troops recorded themselves dousing the severely broken backs and buttocks of the victims they had just killed in red chili. It shows the guys begging for their life. One of the inmates’ daughters claimed, “They were given electric shocks, and chili powder was inserted in their private parts; no questions were asked to them.” The video went viral in Kashmir, sparking fury on a large scale. India responded by turning off all internet access in Poonch and portions of Rajouri. This was a standard move by the Indian occupation to hide their crimes and put down the populace’s resistance. Currently, irate demonstrators are calling for justice for the victims and screaming anti-army chants. The demonstrators are accusing the army of fabricating a confrontation in order to hide the unlawful deaths. 

Human rights organizations and political parties in Kashmir have denounced the event and demanded an impartial and open probe into it. The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) of Jammu and Kashmir declared that the murders constituted a “brazen violation of human rights and international law” and called for the prosecution of those responsible.

The episode has also increased hostilities between Pakistan and India, who both fully claim and partially control the disputed territory of Kashmir. The deaths, according to Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, were a “manifestation of the Indian state-terrorism,” and it encouraged the world to pay attention to the “grave human rights situation” in Kashmir. Although it has not yet released an official statement about the event, the Indian government has reaffirmed its commitment to bringing peace and normality back to Kashmir. In addition, the government has enforced stringent communication and lockdown in the area, citing the Covid-19 epidemic and security concerns.

The Indian security forces and separatist militants, who want to either become independent or merge with Pakistan, have been engaged in a violent confrontation for several decades in this region. A human rights organization called the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) claims that in 2023, the number of civilian deaths in Kashmir rose to at least 229, the most since 2010. Additionally, the organization said that the security forces’ “extrajudicial executions” were to blame for 32 of the civilian deaths. 

Machinations of India’s Brutal Occupation in Kashmir:

There have long been civilian casualties in Kashmir. Three young guys were murdered by the Indian army in 2020 in a fictitious gunfight in Rajouri, and they were later painted as “Pakistani terrorists.” The Indian military was forced to admit their misdeeds and custodial deaths, which went beyond their rights to impunity under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, following additional police inquiry. One of the commanders was given a life sentence by an internal army court in India for the killings, but in November, a military tribunal completely halted his sentence. The Indian army now has the legal authority to search, apprehend, and kill people on sight without consequence, according to the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. The most militarised area on Earth is Indian-occupied Kashmir, and abuses tend to increase with the number of military troops who are granted special privileges. These include, among other things, rapes, enforced disappearances, phony encounters, extrajudicial executions, property devastation, and the exploitation of people as human shields.

Al-Jazeera reports that the Indian army declared on Saturday that an inquiry into the event was underway. Regarding the arrest and death, no information was provided. The families of the victims have told Al Jazeera that the [Indian] government’s offer of jobs and compensation points to the potential role of the army in the killing of the three Kashmiri men”.

Thus, such incidents demand justice on an urgent basis from the International Community. People of IIOJK have endured such torture and killings of their innocent people for decades. However, the question is when? Why the Defenders of Human Rights have looked the other way towards them? Does holding one of the largest International markets make one accessible to all the limitations to uphold humanity?