kashmir issue.ppt

o 1947-End of British rule

o Partition on the basis of religion

o Formation of Pakistan and India

o 635 states remained independent includingKashmir

o Maharaja Harry Singh

o Muslim majority

o Instrument of Accession

INTRODUCTION

Governor General of India Lord Mountbatten“It is my Government’s wish that as soon as

Law and order have been restored in the

Jammu and Kashmir and her soil cleared of

invader the question of the states accession

should be settled by a reference to people”

o First Kashmir War-1947

o Movement of Pakistan’s irregular forces to Srinagar

o Plea made by Harry Singh to India

o Instrument of accession

o Second Kashmir War- 1965

o Pakistan’s Gibraltar's Operation

o United Nations mandated ceasefire

o Third Kashmir War-1971

o Direct Military Confrontation

o Instrument of surrender

WARS BETWEEN PAKISTAN AND

INDIA

o International human right law prohibits the arbitrary

deprivation of life under any circumstances

o The Government of India is a signatory to the

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

(ICCPR)

o Article 6 of the ICCPR expressly prohibits derogation

from the right to life, thus even during the time of

emergency.

INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHT LAW

o The International Covenant on Civil and Political

Rights (ICCPR) also prohibits torture and other

forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment

o Articles 4 and 7 of the ICCPR explicitly ban torture,

even in times of national emergency or when the

security of the state is threatened

o Arrest individuals at will without any arrest

warrants

o Raise residential houses to ground without any prior

notification

o Shoot at will on any suspicious individual

o And above all enjoy full impunity from law and

court

ARMED FORCES SPECIAL POWERS ACT

o Enacted by the President of India. It was an act for

the restoration and maintenance of public order in

disturbed areas in Jammu and Kashmir

o In a “disturbed area” any Magistrate or Police

Officer has full immunity to fire upon ,or otherwise

use force even to the causing of death ,against any

person who is indulging in any act which may

result in serious break of Public Order

DISTURBED AREAS ACT

o Projected for the safeguard of civilians

o A person can be arrested and put into jail for 7 days

and then presented in court of law

o If the court squashes PSA, an individual is

rearrested under the same PSA and process can

continue for years all together

o Thousands of Kashmiri’s youth are currently

detained under this draconian law

PUBLIC SAFETY ACT

o Prevention Of Terrorism Act…2002

o The act replaced the Prevention Of Terrorism

Ordinance of (POTO) 2001 and Terrorist And

Disruptive Activities act(1985-1995)

o The act was replead in 2004 by the united

Progressive Alliance Coalition

o Special powers were granted to the investigating

authorities

POTA

o The act provided the legal framework to strengthen

administrative rights to fight terrorism and was to

be applied against any person and acts covered by

provisions within the act

o Under the new law suspect could be detained for

up to 180 days without the filling of charge sheet

o Enforced disappearance is abduction or kidnapping, carriedout by state agents or organized groups

o Authorities neither accept the responsibility for the dead noraccount for where about the victim

o Youth are randomly arrested and taken to the unknownlocations by security agencies

o They are either killed in encounters or tortured in jails andlater buried or thrown in rivers and lakes

o Enforced Disappearance is a serious violation of fundamentalHuman Rights

ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCE

o Large mass graves have been recently found invalley after WikiLeaks revelations

o An estimate of 371 graves were found at a singlelocation containing approx. 400 bodies

o Every witnesses and grave diggers say that armyand state police used to come and bury bodies afterdark

o In another location 2156 unidentified graves werefound in 38 sites in North Kashmir District

MASS GRAVES

o At two separate locations around 3500 (208 sites)

and 2500 graves have been found

o Government promised DNA tests to reveal the

bodies however no tests were conducted till now

o The “Spore Massacre "refers to the alleged killingsof 55 Kashmiris civilians by the Indian BorderSecurity Force (BSF) after militants ambushed a(BSF) patrol, in the town of Spore in Kashmir on 6January 1993

o Forces fired at local residents and set fire to localhomes and businesses

o Witnesses claim that BSF attacked the public coachkilling the driver and at least 15 passengers as wellas attacking and burning three other cars

SPORE TOWN MASSACRE

o Formed in the year 1988

o Operated by the Border Security Force, It was

reportedly “The most infamous torture center in

Kashmir.”

o Both militants and civilians were tortured using

extreme methods

o Death toll in 9 years of it’s operation reached to

10,000 (exact count not known)

PAPA2