ISLAMABAD:Despite the passage of three decades, there is no hope of justice for the victims of gang rape by Indian occupant forces in the Kunan-Poshpora tragedy, which is a big slap on the face of the so-called Indian justice system.
It has been 32 years since the tragedy of the Kunan-Poshpora gang rape and serious violations of human rights committed by the Indian Army in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
On February 23, 1991, the Indian Army gang-raped more than 100 innocent Kashmiri women in the village of Kunan-Poshpora in Kupwara district.
The mass atrocities were carried out as reprisals in response to freedom fighters’ firing on the Indian Army. On March 17, 1991, before the Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir’s Commission of Inquiry, 53 Kashmiri women confessed to being raped by Indian soldiers.
During the medical examinations conducted between 15 and 21 March 1991, 32 Kashmiri women were found to have been tortured and sexually assaulted.
A report published by the US State Department in 1992 also stated that “there is irrefutable evidence of mass atrocities against the Indian Army in the Kunan-Poshpora tragedy”.
The local people formed a full-fledged commission of inquiry to seek justice, which was forcibly abolished by the Indian government. The Indian government declared the tragedy propaganda and evicted the Indian Army.
The Indian Army also exchanged police officials several times to cover up the tragedy. International human rights organizations have demanded the Indian government for investigating the tragedy several times.
Despite the passage of 32 years, the criminals of Kunan-Poshpora were free under the patronage of the Indian state. The Indian government has openly allowed the army to use rape as a weapon to crush the freedom movement in Kashmir.
In July 1990, the black law AFSPA (Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), 1958) was imposed in Kashmir, which is used by the Indian army for atrocities on Kashmiris.
Amnesty International in its report said that the black law of AFSPA is causing serious violations of human rights in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Due to the AFSPA law, the Indian Army deployed in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir has been given a free rein to commit human rights violations.
Due to this law, the Indian Army has the power to rape women or shoot innocent Kashmiris.
Human rights organizations say that no transparent inquiry has ever been conducted against Indian soldiers, but they have been given free rein to play with humanity. The organizations say that there has never been any inquiry against any military personnel involved in the rape of women. Neither has been punished yet.
Incidents like the Kunan-Poshpora gang rape, Shopian rape, and double murder, and the rape and murder of a minor girl in Kathua reflect the cruel face of Indian forces.
According to one estimate, more than 11,000 cases of rape and gang rape have taken place since 1989.