Srinagar, May 13, 2018 (PPI-OT): As most parts of the world observed Mother’s Day, today, thousands of Kashmiri women continue to wait for the return of their sons killed in fake encounters or subjected to disappearance in custody by Indian troops in occupied Kashmir over the past 29 years.
A report released by the Research Section of Kashmir Media Service on the Mother’s Day, today, said that the continued Indian state terrorism had resulted in the killing of over 95,000 Kashmiris rendering 22,873 women widowed since 1989 to 11th of May 2018. As many as 11,071 women were raped, disgraced or molested by the troops during the period. 55-year-old resistance leader, Aasiya Andrabi along with her associates Fehmeeda Sofi and Nahida Nasreen are illegally detained in Central Jail, Srinagar.
The report pointed out that the troops had subjected over 8,000 Kashmiris to custodial disappearance during the period and the mothers of these disappeared people had been waiting for their return. 6,700 unmarked graves have been discovered in the occupied territory, and it is apprehended that people killed in fake encounters and subjected to disappearance have been buried in these graves.
The Chairman of Hurriyat forum, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq presiding over a meeting in Srinagar asked India to shun its military approach and accept the ground realities to settle the Kashmir dispute according to the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. The meeting finalized the programmes for the upcoming Martyrs’ Week to commemorate the martyrdom anniversary of Mirwaiz Molvi Muhammad Farooq, Khawja Abdul Ghani Lone and martyrs of Hawal.
The All Parties Hurriyat Conference and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front Chairman, Muhammad Yasin Malik in their statements in Srinagar strongly condemned the invoking of draconian Public Safety Act against Tehreek-e-Hurriyat leader, Muhammad Rafiq Owaisi and Jamaat-e-Islami leader, Bashir Ahmad Lone. The Jamaat-e-Islami of occupied Kashmir also denounced the illegal arrests.
Meanwhile, Hindu extremists raising anti-Kashmir slogans attacked another Kashmiri and beat him to the pulp in Himachal Pradesh state of India, a day after a Kashmiri family was attacked by Hindu goons in New Delhi.
The Group of Concerned Citizens, an Indian civil society group, while expressing concern over the killings in occupied Kashmir in a statement in New Delhi called for an immediate ceasefire to be followed by sincere and meaningful dialogue for final and lasting settlement of the Kashmir dispute. The group, which includes jurists, former vice chancellors, academicians, civil servants and business heads, urged the Indian government to immediately announce ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir.
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