Indian forces martyr 278 and wounds another 150 in year 2020 as part of their inhuman campaign to suppress Kashmiri dissent.
As the world synergized its efforts against COVID-19 pandemic, India on the other hand has been busy in targeting Kashmiris in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) resulting in 278 innocent Kashmiris being martyred at the hands of Indian forces.
If the history wasn’t cruel enough for Kashmiris, the year 2020 as well, turned out to be ‘bloody’ for the people of disputed valley as they faced brutalities, atrocities of Indian forces as the world was left distracted by COVID-10 pandemic.
As per details, Indian forces martyred 278 Kashmiris in 2020, whereas another 20 died while being in illegal detention.
With the passage of time, the so-called ‘cordon and search operations’ have become the preferable tool for Indian forces as a cover for extrajudicial killings of Kashmiris in fake encounters.
More than 750 Kashmiris were subjected to physical torture by Indian forces during the year.
Meanwhile, extensive use of notorious ‘pellet guns’ by Indian forces have resulted in 150 Kashmiris being severely injured. Out of those affected by pellet guns, at least 10 lost one of their eye, whereas 22 suffered some kind of injuries in one or both eyes.
More than 2,800 Kashmiris were apprehended this year, 920 houses were intentionally damaged/ burned/demolished by Indian forces.
Indian brutalities further resulted in 29 children being orphaned, whereas 58 women were raped or suffered sexual assault by occupying Indian forces.
The disputed valley has been subjected to draconian laws including telecommunications ban, internet restrictions along with totalitarian censorship against press and media.
Several journalists have been apprehended by Indian authorities under false allegations, whereas others have been injured in their line of duty.
Kashmiri leaders have been subjected to mass illegal detention and are suffering from severe health conditions due to adverse circumstances under Indian custody.
Prominent Kashmiri leaders including Asiya Andrai – founding leader of Dukhtaran-i-Millat, Shabbir Ahmed Shah – founder and leader Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Party have been illegally incarcerated.
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Other Kashmiri leaders subjected to illegal detention include Yasin Malik, Masarat Alam Bhat, Mohammad Ashraf Sehraie and various other leaders who have been languishing under squalid conditions in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic in infamous Tihar and other jails.
Senior Kashmiri leaders such as Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq are currently illegal house arrest by Indian forces.
Inhumane lockdown and curfew restrictions have pushed the valley and its people into an economic crisis leaving agriculture, transport, industries, tourism sectors severely hampered.
According to Kashmiri traders, the valley’s economy has suffered 90 billion in losses.
Furthermore, Indian forces have been found guilty of killing Kashmiris in fake encounters under the pretext of terrorism.
Recently, Captain Bhoopendra Singh – an Indian Army officer has been accused of planting weapons on the dead bodies of three Kashmiri laborers who were killed in a fake encounter back in July 2020 this year.
Captain Bhoopendra Singh had killed three innocent Kashmiris aged 18, 21, and 25 years in the village of Amshipora in July 2020 earlier this year and had placed illegal weapons on their dead bodies to portray them as ‘terrorists’.
The dead bodies were then quietly buried in a remote area, and the incident only came to limelight after the pictures of the deceased were circulated on social media.
An internal inquiry then confirmed the accusations against Captain Bhoopendra Singh who is now in military custody and has been charged with murder, conspiracy, and other offences.
International community has so far failed to heed to Kashmiris’ plight. International human rights organizations must address the rapidly deteriorating human rights situation in the disputed valley.
Pakistan, on multiple occasions has highlighted human tragedies in IOK, urging international community and organizations to take notice of India’s atrocities and brutalities.
