MUZAFFARABAD (Kashmir English): Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) have commemorated the 34th anniversary of the tragic Kunan Poshpora mass rape incident today and demanded an independent probe at the international level.
In this regard, a seminar was organized in Muzaffarabad by the Kashmir Women Alert Forum. The event was attended by a large number of people including Hurriyat leaders, political and social activists as well as students.
During the seminar, the speakers strongly condemned the use of women as a tool of war by the Indian army and reiterated their commitment to continue supporting the oppressed people of IIOJK at all levels.
Besides other atrocities, they referred to the Kunan Poshpora tragedy and exposed the brutalities committed by Indian troops in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
They also called upon international human rights organizations and the global community to take notice of the ongoing human rights violations in the occupied territory.
Earlier on Saturday, Jammu Kashmir National Front (JKNF) demanded an independent probe at the international level into mass rape incidents committed by the Indian forces in occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
In a statement issued Saturday, the JKNF spokesman Muhammad Haseeb Wani said that Kashmiri women have been the worst victims of India’s state terrorism.
“Use and abuse of power, harassment and humiliation and sexual abuse are among the dirtiest war tactics the Indian army has been using to suppress Kashmiris’ legitimate struggle,” the spokesman said.
On 23 Feb 1991, in the villages of Kunan and Poshpora, Indian Forces committed mass rape of more than 100 young, old and minor women. It was a pre-planned crime and a systematic rape conducted by the Indian army.
Indian laws such as AFSPA effectively allow military personnel to get away with rape and brutality and the world needs to put more focus on violence perpetrated by Indian forces in Jammu & Kashmir.
