News Desk
ISLAMABAD: As many as 32 years have passed but the victims of Kunan-Poshpura mass rape in the Indian Illegally-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) are still in search of justice.
According to the details, on 23 February 1991, Indian army mass raped around 100 Kashmiri women in Kunan-Poshpura of Kapwara district. The mass rape was done in response to firing on Indian soldiers. On 17 March, 1991, as many as 53 Kashmiri women told an inquiry commission headed by chief justice Jammu and Kashmir that they were raped by the Indian military personnel. Medical examinations between 15-21 March 1991 confirmed rape and sexual torture on 32 Kashmiri women.
A report released by US State Department in 1992 also said that irrefutable proofs was available on the mass rape claims. Locals, then, at their own, constituted a commission to look into the allegations but the Indian government abolished it forcefully. The Indian government termed the allegations a propaganda against the military. The Indian government also transferred many police officers in a bid to cover the tragedy.
So far, many international human rights organizations have demanded the Indian government to launch a probe into the incident. But the culprits are still roaming freely under the state patronage. It is widely believed that the Indian government has been using rape as a tactic to suppress the indigenous Kashmiri freedom movement.
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Meanwhile, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has said that India was using mass rape as tactic to suppress Kashmiri freedom movement. Moulvi Bashir Irfani, Chairman of Tehreek-e-Shababul Muslimeen and a senior leader of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), has expressed regret that despite the passage of decades, justice has not been provided to victims of Kunan-Poshpura mass rape.
In a message from jail, Kashmir Media Service reported, Bashir Ahmad Irfani said that India is using various tactics, including gang rape to suppress the freedom movement of Kashmiris. He is unlawfully detained in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
He noted that the Kunan-Poshpura mass rape was a black chapter in the history of Kashmir when Indian troops entered the village and raped dozens of women regardless of age. He said that the Kashmiri people had made all kinds of sacrifices for the freedom of their land from Indian subjugation.
Rape tragedy a stain on face of India’s so-called democracy: APHC
Irfani said that on February 22 and 23, 1991, Indian troops mass raped about 100 women in the Kunan and Poshpura areas of the Kupwara district. Despite the passage of many decades, the criminals are scot-free, while victims are still seeking justice. He strongly condemned the tragedy and termed it as an ugly stain on the face of India’s so-called democracy.
Showing serious concern over confiscating properties of poor Kashmiri people, Irfani appealed to the international community to take notice of these violations and fulfill its responsibilities regarding the grant of Kashmiris’ fundamental right, the right to self-determination, as per UN resolutions. — APP
