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| HRW indicts India, Pakistan for human rights abuses in J&K | | |
Srinagar, Sep 12 Human Rights Watch (HRW) today accused India of giving its armed forces a ''free rein'' in Jammu and Kashmir while indicting Pakistan for providing militants with training, weapons, funding and sanctuary.
In its 156-page report released here this morning, HRW said the Indian government has effectively given its armed forces a free rein in Jammu and Kashmir, while Pakistan and militant groups have failed to hold the ultras accountable for the atrocities committed by them.
Titled ''Everybody Lives in Fear: Patterns of Impunity in Jammu and Kashmir'', the report documents recent human rights abuses committed by militants, many of whom are backed by Pakistan, as well as by the Indian Army and para-military forces in the troubled state.
HRW Asia Director Brad Adams released the report here. This was the first time since the outbreak of violence in Jammu and Kashmir in late 1980s that an international human rights organisation released its report on the strife-torn state here.
The report said there was considerable evidence that over many years Pakistan has provided Kashmiri militants with training, weapons, funding and sanctuary.
Under pressure from the United States after attacks of September 11, 2001, HRW said Pakistan banned several militant groups, including Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, in January 2002.
But these groups have continued to operate after changing their names, the report said, adding Pakistan appears to be keeping its options open should peace talks collapse by continuing to support these groups.
HRW said Pakistan remains accountable for abuses committed by militants who are armed and trained.
The report said both militants and security forces have committed widespread and numerous human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law in Jammu and Kashmir since the outbreak of violence in 1989.
HRW said the Indian government's failure to end widespread impunity for human rights abuses committed both by its security forces and the militants as well was fueling the cycle of violence in Jammu and Kashmir.
Militants have carried out bombings and grenade attacks against civilians, targeted killings, torture and attacks upon religious and ethnic minorities, it added.
The report said security forces have committed torture, ''disappearances'' and arbitrary detentions, and they continue to execute Kashmiris in ''fake encounter'' killings, claiming that these take place during armed clashed with militants.
HRW is a United States-based international non-governmental organisation that conducts research and advocacy on human rights.
It was founded under the name Helsinki Watch in 1978 to monitor the former Soviet Union's compliance with the Helsinki Accords. As the organisation grew, it formed other ''watch committees'' to cover other regions of the world.
In 1988, all of the committees were united under one umbrella to form HRW. One of the original founders and a president of the organisation was Robert L Bernstein. HRW was one of the six international NGOs that founded the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers in 1998.
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