After the ICJ order on Kulbhushan Jadhav, Kashmir’s civil society members have asked for international scrutiny of the violation of international humanitarian law in the Valley.
An appeal issued by the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), an amalgam of different human rights groups, have accused the Indian government, Pakistan and the armed insurgents of human rights violations in the valley. Calling it an international armed conflict, the group asked three of these parties to adhere to the “principles of the International Humanitarian Law” during their combat operations.
“We call upon all the combatants whether state or non-state and their political leadership to abide by the following minimum and basic principles derived from International Humanitarian Law and other universally accepted principles,” said the group.
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“India wants to seek benefits of International law when it suits them. The fact is that the human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir have not been addressed by the domestic judicial system and at some point of time, the unabated violence perpetrated by India will have to be put to international scrutiny”, said Khurram Parvez of JKCCS.
Parvez, 39, head of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) who had lost one of his legs during a landmine blast in 2004, told Outlook that India should adhere to international humanitarian law in Kashmir. Parvez and his group were the first to come up with details of thousands of unmarked graves in remote parts of Valley, especially North Kashmir.
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“(It) should also be brought at International Court of Justice, but the question is who will take these cases there as individuals and organisations cannot file cases in ICJ, only a country can”, he said.
The group accused the Indian army of “extrajudicial killings” and an “indiscriminate use of force against the civilians” in recent months. “The Indian state has resorted to tactics of collective punishment on the civilian population for providing support to the armed insurgents. Cordon and search operations, widespread torture and beatings to the civilians, using civilians as human shields, preventing the ambulances to ferry the injured to the hospitals, ransacking and vandalization of civilian properties, attacks on college premises, banning of internet etc are some of the allegations against the Indian armed forces and Jammu and Kashmir Police,” it said.
On armed insurgents, the group accused them of killing workers of the political parties, attacks on banks, throwing of grenades and attacking the armed forces at the public places, ransacking of the houses of police personnel and threatening their family members and killing of a soldier on leave after abduction.”
In its appeal, the group has asked to avoid military installations in and around population centers so as to avoid civilian casualties. It also demanded an investigation into the unmarked graves to determine who the dead were - and how they were killed.
