United Nations experts have expressed concern over “repressive measures and broader pattern of systematic infringements of fundamental rights” in Indian-administered Kashmir and asked the Indian government to respond to allegations of rights violations in the disputed region.
In a letter sent to the Indian government at the end of March and made public on Monday, five UN experts sought New Delhi’s response to three main allegations: the “enforced disappearance” of Naseer Ahmad Wani from southern Kashmir’s Shopian district, the “extrajudicial killing” of Irfan Ahmad Dar in north Kashmir’s Sopore, and the “arbitrary detention” of pro-India leader Waheed-Ur-Rehman Para from Pulwama.
In November last year, the letter said, Para, who was arrested by India’s National Investigating Agency (NIA) over “terrorism charges” was allegedly subjected to “ill-treatment” and “abusive interrogations” which lasted 10 to 12 hours a day.
“He was held in a dark underground cell at sub-zero temperature, was deprived of sleep, kicked, slapped, beaten with rods, stripped naked and hung upside down,” said the letter.
“Para was examined by a government doctor three times … and three times by a psychiatrist. He requested medication for insomnia and anxiety,” it added.Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, who rule over portions of it but claim the Himalayan territory in full. The two nuclear-armed nations have fought two of their three wars over the region.
In the early 1990s, an armed rebellion against Indian rule took shape on which he denounced “human rights violations” in Indian-administered Kashmir. the Indian side, a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people, mainly civilians. The rebels demand either an independent state or a merger with neighbouring Pakistan.
The region also has a small group of pro-India politicians and political parties who participate in national and regional elections.
The UN experts’ letter said Para, a youth leader from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), one of the pro-India political parties, was arrested following his virtual meeting in July last year with UN Security Council members in which he denounced “human rights violations” in Indian-administered Kashmir.
